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THE

ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA

ELEVENTH EDITION

FIRST edition,

published in three volumes, 1768 — 1771.

SECOND

it ten ,

1777— 1784.

THIRD

,, eighteen ,

1788— 1797

FOURTH

,, twenty ,

, 1801 — 1810.

FIFTH

„ twenty ,

, 1815 — 1817

SIXTH

,, twenty ,

, 1823 — 1824

SEVENTH

,, twenty-one ,

, 1830 — 1842.

EIGHTH

„ twenty-two ,

1853—1860

NINTH

,, twenty-five ,

1875—1889.

TENTH

ninth edition and eleven

supplementary volumes,

1902 — 1903.

ELEVENTH

published in twenty-nine volurm

s, 1910 — 1911.

in all countries subscribing to the

Bern Convention

THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS

of the
UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE

THE

ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA

DICTIONARY

ARTS, SCIENCES, LITERATURE AND GENERAL

INFORMATION

ELEVENTH EDITION

VOLUME I

A to ANDROPHAGI

Cambridge, England:

at the University Press

New York, 35 West 32nd Street
1910

The Encyclopaedia Britannica Company

t » ( ' ( i ', *t tit* tt * *

DEDICATED BY PERMISSION

HIS MAJESTY GEORGE THE FIFTH

KING OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND
AND OF THE BRITISH DOMINIONS BEYOND THE SEAS

EMPEROR OF INDIA

AND TO

WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

1970

PREFATORY NOTE

THE Encyclopedia Britannica, of which the Eleventh Edition is now issued by the
University of Cambridge, has a history extending over 140 years. The First Edition,
in three quarto volumes, was issued in weekly numbers (price 6d. each) from 1768 to
1 77 1 by "a Society of Gentlemen in Scotland." The proprietors were Colin MacFarquhar, an
Edinburgh printer, and Andrew Bell, the principal Scottish engraver of that day. It seems that
MacFarquhar, a man of wide knowledge and excellent judgment, was the real originator of the
work, though his want of capital prevented his undertaking it by himself. The work was edited
and in great part written by William Smellie, another Edinburgh printer, who was bold enough
to undertake "fifteen capital sciences" for his own share. The numerous plates were engraved
by Bell so admirably that some of them have been reproduced in every edition down to the
present one.

The plan of the work differed from all preceding " dictionaries of arts and sciences," as
encyclopaedias were usually called until then in Great Britain; it combined the plan of Dennis de
Coetlogon (1745) with that in common use — on the one hand keeping important subjects together,
and on the other facilitating reference by numerous and short separate articles arranged in
alphabetical order. Though the infant Encyclopedia, Britannica omitted the whole field of history
and biography as beneath the dignity of encyclopaedias, it speedily acquired sufficient popularity to
justify the preparation of a new edition on a much larger scale. The decision to include history
and biography caused the secession of Smellie; but MacFarquhar himself edited the work, with
the assistance of James Tytler, famous as the first Scottish aeronaut, and for the first time produced
an encyclopaedia which covered the whole field of human knowledge. This Second Edition was
issued in numbers from June 1777 to September 1784, and was afterwards bound up in ten quarto
volumes, containing (8595 pages and 340 plates) more than three times as much material as the
First Edition.

These earliest editions of the Encyclopedia Britannica consisted mainly of what may be
described as compilation; like all their predecessors, from the time of Alsted to that of Ephraim
Chambers, they had been put together by one or two men who were still able to take the whole of
human knowledge for their province. It was with the Third Edition that the plan of drawing on
specialist learning, which has since given the Encyclopedia Britannica its high reputation, was first
adopted. This edition, which was begun in 1788 and completed, in eighteen volumes, in 1797, was
edited by MacFarquhar until his death in 1793, when about two-thirds of the work were completed.
Bell, the surviving proprietor, then appointed George Gleig — afterwards Bishop of Brechin — as

vii

Fill

PREFATORY NOTE

editor, and it was he who enlisted the assistance, as contributors, of the most eminent men of science
then living in Scotland. Professors Robison, Thomas Thomson and Playfair were the most
notable of these new specialist contributors, and a Supplement in two volumes was issued in 1801
to allow them to extend their work to those earlier letters of the alphabet which had already been
issued by MacFarquhar. It was their labours which first gave the Encyclopedia Britannica its
pre-eminent standing among works of reference, and prepared the way for it to become, as a later
editor claimed, not merely a register but an instrument of research, since thereafter the leading
specialists in all departments were invited to contribute their unpublished results to its pages.

In the Fourth Edition, published by Andrew Bell in twenty volumes from.1801 to 1810, the
principle of specialist contributions was considerably extended, but it was only brought to such
degree of perfection as was possible at the time by Archibald Constable, "the great Napoleon of the
realms of print," who purchased the copyright of the Encyclopedia Britannica soon after Bell's death
in 1809. Constable lavished his energy and his money on the famous "Supplement to the Fourth,
Fifth and Sixth Editions," which in 1813 he commissioned Macvey Napier to edit. It was with
the appearance of this Supplement that the Encyclopedia Britannica ceased to be a purely Scottish
undertaking, and blossomed out into that great cosmopolitan or international enterprise which it has
since become. The most eminent writers, scholars and men of science in England and on the
continent of Europe, as well as in Scotland itself, were enlisted in the work: Sir Walter Scott,
Jeffrey, Leslie, Playfair and Sir Humphry Davy, Dugald Stewart — who received the then unpre-
cedented sum of ,£1000 for a single contribution — Ricardo, Malthus and Thomas Young, with
foreign men of science like Arago and Biot. From this time onward, indeed, a list of the
contributors to successive editions of the Encyclopedia Britannica would be a list of the most
eminent British and American writers and thinkers of each generation; the work had become the
product of the organized co-operation of acknowledged leaders of the world's thought in every
department of human knowledge. For this advance the credit is mainly due to Constable.

The Fifth and Sixth Editions, each in twenty volumes, issued by Constable between 181 5 and
1824, were practically reprints of the Fourth, the Supplement — issued in six volumes from 1816 to
1824 — being considered adequate to supply their deficiencies. The Seventh Edition, edited by
Macvey Napier on the same lines as the Supplement, of which it incorporated a great part, was
brought out by a new publisher, Adam Black, who had bought the copyright on Constable's failure.
This edition was issued from 183010 1842, and was comprised in twenty-one volumes, which included
a general index to the whole work. The Eighth Edition, under the editorship of T. Stewart Traill,
was issued by the firm of A. & C. Black, from 1853 to i860, in twenty-one volumes, with a separate
index volume.

The Ninth Edition was then undertaken by the same firm on a scale which Adam Black con-
sidered so hazardous that he refused to have any part in the undertaking, and he accordingly
advertised his retirement from the firm. This Edition began to appear in 1875, under the editor-
ship of Thomas Spencer Baynes, and was completed in 1889 by William Robertson Smith. It
consisted of twenty-four volumes, containing 21,572 pages and 302 plates, with a separate index
volume. Adam Black's prognostications of failure were signally falsified by the success of the work,
of which nearly half a million sets — including American pirated and mutilated editions — were
ultimately sold. The great possibilities of popularity for the Encyclopedia Britannica in Great

PREFATORY NOTE ix

Britain were only realized, however, when in 1898 The Times undertook to sell a verbatim reprint of
the Ninth Edition at about half the price originally asked for it by the publishers. The success of
this reprint led to the publication by The Times in 1902 of an elaborate supplement in eleven New
Volumes (one containing new maps and one a comprehensive index to the whole work), constituting,
with the previous twenty-four volumes, the Tenth Edition. The Eleventh Edition, which super-
sedes both Ninth and Tenth, and represents in an entirely new and original form a fresh survey
of the whole field of human thought and achievement, written by some 1500 eminent specialists
drawn from nearly every country of the civilized world, incorporating the results of research and the
progress of events up to the middle of 1910, is now published by the University of Cambridge,
where it is hoped that the Encyclopedia Britannica has at length found a permanent home.

It will be seen from this brief survey of the history of the Encyclopedia Britannica that, while
the literary and scholarly success of the work has been uniform and continuous, its commercial
career has naturally been subject to vicissitudes. Six different publishing firms have been at
various times associated, with its production; and the increasing magnitude of the work, con-
sequent on the steady growth of knowledge, made this wellnigh inevitable. The Encyclopedia
Britannica has to-day become something more than a commercial venture, or even a national
enterprise. It is a vast cosmopolitan work of learning, which can find no home so appropriate
as an ancient university.

The present publication of the new Encyclopedia Britannica by the University of Cambridge
is a natural step in the evolution of the university as an educational institution and a home
of research. The medieval University of Cambridge began its educational labours as an
institution intended almost exclusively for the instruction of the clergy, to whose needs its
system of studies was necessarily in a large measure accommodated. The Revival of Learning,
the Renaissance and the Reformation widened its sphere of intellectual work and its interests,
as well as its actual curriculum. The 19th century saw the complete abolition of the
various tests which formerly shut the gates of the English universities against a large part of
the people. The early establishment in Cambridge of special colleges for women was also a
sign of expanding activities. About the same time the University Extension movement, first
advocated at Cambridge in 1871 on the ground that the ancient universities were not mere
clusters of private establishments but national institutions, led to a wider conception of the
possibilities of utilizing the intellectual resources of the universities for the general diffusion of
knowledge and culture; and the system of Local Examinations brought the university into close
contact with secondary education throughout the country. But the public to which the University
of Cambridge thus appealed, though wider than that of the college lecture-rooms, was still
necessarily limited. Practically it is only through the medium of the University Press that
Cambridge can enter into and maintain direct relations with the whole of the English-speaking
world. The present time seems appropriate for an effort towards thus signally extending the
intellectual and educational influence of the university.

To this end, the University of Cambridge has undertaken the publication of the Encyclopedia
Britannica, and now issues the Eleventh Edition of that work. These twenty-eight volumes and
index aim at achieving the high ambition of bringing all extant knowledge within the- reach of
every class of readers. While the work, in its present form, is to some extent based on the

x PREFATORY NOTE

preceding edition, the whole field has been re-surveyed with the guidance of the most eminent
specialists. The editors early decided that the new edition should be planned and written as a
whole, and refused to content themselves with the old-fashioned plan of regarding each volume as a
separate unit, to be compiled and published by itself. They were thus able to arrange their material
so as to give an organic unity to the whole work and to place all the various subjects under
their natural headings, in the form which experience has shown to be the most convenient for
a work of universal reference. An important consequence of this method of editing is that the
twenty-eight volumes are now ready for publication at the same time, and that the complete work
can be offered to the public in its entirety. Although the work has been reduced to the smallest
compass consistent with lucidity — bibliographies of all subjects which call for assistance of this
nature being provided in aid of more detailed study — the aim throughout has been to maintain the
highest standard of scholarly authority, and to provide a thorough elucidation of important scientific
problems for which the modern inquirer has no adequate text-books. This Eleventh Edition
of the Encyclopedia Britannica is now, therefore, offered to the public by the University of
Cambridge in the hope and belief that it will be found to be a trustworthy guide to sound learning,
and an instrument of culture of world-wide influence.

Cambridge,

November I, igio.

EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION

IN the Prefatory Note the history of the production of the successive editions of the Encyclopedia
Britannica has been briefly told; and elsewhere in these volumes, under the heading of
Encyclopaedia (vol. ix. p. 369), an account is given in greater detail of the particular form of
literature to which that name applies. It is no longer necessary, as was done in some of the
earlier editions of the Encyclopedia Britannica, to defend in a Preface the main principle of the system
by which subjects are divided for treatment on a dictionary plan under the headings most directly
suggesting explanation or discussion. The convenience of an arrangement of material
based on a single alphabetization of subject words and proper names has established . the bookm
itself in the common sense of mankind, and in recent years has led to the multiplication
of analogous works of reference. There are, however, certain points in the execution of the Eleventh
Edition to which, in a preliminary survey, attention may profitably be drawn.

The Eleventh Edition and its Predecessors.

It is important to deal first with the relationship of the Eleventh Edition to its predecessors. In
addition to providing a digest of general information, such as is required in a reference-book pure and
simple, the object of the Encyclopedia Britannica has always been to give reasoned dis- "

cussions on all the great questions of practical or speculative interest, presenting the ed j t j ons
results of accumulated knowledge and original inquiry in the form of articles which are
themselves authoritative contributions to the literature of their subjects, adapted for the purpose of
systematic reading and study. In this way its successive editions have been among the actual sources
through which progressive improvements have been attained in the exposition of many important branches
of learning. The Ninth Edition in particular, to which the Eleventh is the lineal successor — for the
name of the Tenth was used only to indicate the incorporation of supplementary vol-
umes which left the main fabric untouched — was universally recognized as giving the va j ue
most scholarly contemporary expression to this constructive ideal. The reputation thus
gained by the Encyclopedia Britannica as a comprehensive embodiment of accurate scholarship —
the word being used here for authoritative exposition in all departments of knowledge — carries with
it a responsibility which can only be fulfilled by periodical revision in the light of later research. Yet
in any complete new edition, and certainly in that which is here presented, due acknowledgment
must be made to the impulse given by those who kept the sacred fire burning in earlier days. In this
respect, if a special debt is owing to the editors of the Ninth Edition, and particularly to the great
services of Robertson Smith, it must not be forgotten that long before their time the Encyclopedia
Britannica had enlisted among its contributors many eminent writers, whose articles, substantially car-
ried forward at each revision, became closely associated with the name and tradition of the work. 1 To

1 In earlier days the reverence due to deceased authority was perhaps carried to extreme lengths. The following footnote, attached in the
Eighth Edition to Sir Walter Scott's article Drama, may be cited: — "It is proper to state here . . . that this article is reprinted as it originally
appeared in the supplement to the fourth, fifth and sixth editions of this work without any of those adaptations which the course of time and change

xii EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION

preserve the continuity of its historic associations, so far as might be consistent with the public interest,
and with what was due to progress in knowledge, was one of the first duties of those responsible for a
new edition; and just as the Ninth Edition carried forward, with notable additions or substitutions, work
contributed to the Eighth and earlier editions, so it provided matter for utilization in the Eleventh, which
in its turn had to accommodate the new knowledge of a later generation.

' In considering the treatment, however, of the mass of material thus handed down, the editor of the
Eleventh Edition had an entirely new situation to deal with. It is necessary here to explain why it is

that the Eleventh Edition is much more than a revision — is, indeed, a new edifice as com-
new pared with the structure of the Ninth Edition. In the whole architecture of the latter

there was a serious flaw, due to no want of ability in editors or contributors, but to the
conditions imposed upon them in the system of publication.

The economic and mechanical obstacles to the production of a great encyclopaedia otherwise than
in a series of volumes separately issued at intervals during a number of years were formerly considered

prohibitive. Thus the Ninth Edition, the first volume of which was published in 1875
eo ^f em and the twenty-fifth in 1889, was incomplete for some sixteen years after its real incep-
tion. Not only does such a long interval between the start and the finish involve the
possibility of a change in editorial direction and conception such as happened in 1881 when Spencer
Baynes was compelled by ill-health to hand over the reins to Robertson Smith; but even if the same
editorial policy remained to dominate the work, the continual progress of time was constantly chang-
ing the conditions under which it was exercised. With such a system of publication an encyclopaedia
can have no proper unity of conception or uniformity of treatment. It cannot be planned from
the beginning so as to present at its completion a satisfactory synoptic view of any department of
knowledge. The historical record is restricted by the accident of the dates at which the separate vol-
umes are published, in such a way that the facts included in one volume may contradict those in
another. Individual volumes, the contents of which are arbitrarily determined by the alphabetical
order of headings, may indeed be abreast of the learning and accomplishments of their day, but

each time a later volume appears the circumstances have altered, and there is every
defect of chance that some integral portion of what had previously been published may be

different dates, stultified. Those who were responsible for the execution of the Ninth Edition of the

Encyclopedia Britannica did their best under an impossible system. They made it a
collection of detached monographs of the highest authority and value. In their day the demand of a
modern public for "up-to-date-ness" had not come into existence, and it seemed perfectly reason-
able in 1879 to bring the article on the history of England no further than the accession of Queen Victoria.
But it was not their failure to appreciate the importance of dealing with the latest events in history that
made so much of the Ninth Edition useless in preparing its successor. When only this was in question,
later history could be added. It was the fact that, owing to its system of publication, its arrangement
was not encyclopaedic, and that in preparing an edition which for the first time had the advantage of being
systematic in the distribution of its material, there was no way of adapting to its needs what had been
written originally on a faulty principle.

Until the year 1902, when, within nine months, nine supplementary volumes of text were issued
by The Times, no publisher had cared or dared to attempt to produce at one time the whole of any

work of similar magnitude. It was the regular practice to issue volume by volume.
h rf ° C On this system the public has been furnished with the Oxford New English Diction-
employed ar y ( st *^ incomplete in 1910, though work had begun in the early 'sixties and the first

volume appeared in 1888) and with the Dictionary of National Biography, while the French
La Grande Encyclopedic, which took even longer than the Ninth Edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica
to complete, was coming out in its thirty-one volumes between 1885 and 1902. But the proof obtained
in 1902 of the practicability of simultaneous production in the case of the supplementary volumes which

of circumstances render necessary in ordinary cases. We have deemed this homage due to the genius and fame of the illustrious author, whose
splendid view of the origin and progress of the dramatic art we have accordingly presented to the reader exactly as it proceeded from his own hand,
leaving every contemporaneous allusion and illustration untouched." It may be remarked that this footnote, which was reprinted from the Seventh
Edition, was itself carried forward without being brought up to date, apparently in the same spirit; and in another footnote, also reprinted from the
Seventh Edition, a reference is made to allusions "on p. 147," which were indeed on p. 147 of the Seventh Edition, but'are on p. 137 of the Eighthl

EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION xiii

converted the Ninth into the Tenth Edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, made it imperative to
extend this limited experiment to the making of an entirely new edition. By this means a
new value might be given to a work which aimed not merely at providing a storehouse of
facts, but expounding all knowledge as part of an ordered system. For the problem here was
bound up with the question of the date of publication to a unique degree. In some other
sorts of book the fact that successive volumes appear at certain intervals of time only affects
the convenience of the purchaser — as, for instance, in the case of the Cambridge Modern History;
the various volumes do not cover the same field or touch the same materials. But in an ency-
clopaedia it is only the alphabetization of the headings which causes them to fall in distinct volumes,
and the accident of position separates the treatment of the same or closely related subjects in
such a way that, if they are discussed from the point of view of widely different dates, the
organic unity of the work is entirely lost. Thanks to the enterprising provision of capital, and
the co-operation of a far-sighted business management, it was possible to start

the preparation of the Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopcedia Britannica with the ecu ar ™"
i i i i iii ii.li ii i mi i portance to

knowledge that it would be published as a whole at one date. The separate volumes, such a work.

whatever their number, would no longer represent so many lapses of time and so many
distinct units in executive conception, but merely mechanical divisions for convenience in handling.
And arrangements were made so that the printing of the whole edition should eventually take hardly
more time than had been required for the printing and correcting of a single volume under the
old system.

The opportunity thus provided was in many ways more appropriate to the making of an
entirely new work than to the revision of an old one. For the Ninth Edition was wanting in pre-
cisely that character of interdependence in all its parts which could now be given

to the various related articles. Moreover, experience had shown that, as compared ' ,

. . . no longer

with other encyclopaedias of less ambitious scope, not intended for systematic study possible.

or continuous reading, its arrangement as a work of reference had defects which
resulted in some injustice being done to its merits as a series of individual contributions to
learning. There was no reason why both these purposes should not be served, and attention
be paid to distributing the material under the much larger number of headings which are required
for rapid and easy reference, when once it was possible to ignore the particular order in which the
subjects were treated. Since none of the work was printed or published until the whole of it
was ready, new headings could always be introduced with their appropriate matter, according as
the examination of what was written under another heading revealed omissions which showed
that some related subject required explanation on its own account, or according as the progress
of time up to the year of publication involved the emergence of new issues, to which previously
no separate reference would have been expected. The execution of the Eleventh Edition, planned
on uniform lines as a single organism, and thus admitting of continual improvement in detail,
irrespectively of the distribution of matter under this or that letter of the alphabet, could proceed
in all its parts pari passu, the various articles being kept open for revision or rewriting, so as to
represent the collective knowledge and the contemporary standpoint of the date at which the whole
was issued.

This new design involved the maintenance, during all the years of preparation, of an active collabora-
tion among a vast body of contributors. The formal structure of the Ninth Edition necessarily dis-
appeared, leaving only its component parts as building material for incorporation in the
new edifice to such degree as examination might prove its adaptability. The site — in this . . fi eU y f
case the whole field of knowledge — was mapped out afresh under the advice of special- jtnow/ed^e.
ist departmental advisers, who, in providing for the occupation of the different
areas, co-operated with a central editorial staff, comprising many members, each of whom was responsi-
ble to the Editor-in-Chief for a particular section of the work. In this manner what, it is hoped, is a
more complete articulation of subjects was effected, while co-operation between the contributors who
dealt with each homogeneous department of knowledge was combined with the concentration in editorial
direction, which alone could make the Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica an organic unit.

xiv EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION

The result of the new survey was a distribution of material under a far larger number of headings than
had been included in the Ninth Edition — some 40,000 instead of some 17,000; and the method of simul-
taneous construction enabled the co-ordination which is of such peculiar importance in
.. a work of reference to be applied systematically by the editorial staff. The authority

which attaches to the names of individual contributors remains, as before, an important
feature of the Eleventh Edition, but by these means, it is hoped, the authority which attaches to the
Encyclopaedia Britannica itself is more firmly established. When Robertson Smith finally wrote his
preface to the Index volume of the Ninth Edition, he said: — "The use of initials (as signatures to articles)
was not designed to lighten the responsibility of the editors. No editor can possess the knowledge

which would enable him to control the work of his contributors in all the subjects treated
The two sources
of authorlt °* * n t ^ ie Encyclopedia, but no effort has been spared on the part of the editorial staff to

secure the accuracy and sufficiency of every contribution, and to prevent those repeti-
tions and inconcinnities which necessarily occur where each contributor is absolutely and solely re-
sponsible for the articles which bear his name." The principle here enunciated, which represents the
tradition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica in the matter of the correct relationship between editors and
contributors, and the responsibility attaching to individual signatures, has been adopted in the
Eleventh Edition, but with all the advantages resulting alike from simultaneous production and
from the fact that the Editor-in-Chief was assisted by a much larger staff, working under conditions
which enabled the editorial control to be effective to a degree unattainable under the earlier
system. In concert with the numerous eminent writers whose signatures give individual inter-
est and weight to their contributions, the whole work — and not only the unsigned articles,
fo f ce man y °f which indeed have equally high authority behind them — passed through the
detailed scrutiny of the editorial staff, whose duty it was to see that it provided what
those who used any part of the book could reasonably expect to find, to remedy those "inconcinnities"
to which Robertson Smith alluded, and to secure the accuracy in the use of names, the inclusion of dates,
and similar minutiae, which is essential in a work of reference.

A great deal of the older fabric was obviously incompatible with the new scheme of treatment; but,

where possible, those earlier contributions have been preserved which are of the nature of classics in the

world of letters. By a selective process which, it is believed, gives new value to the old

. . material — by the revision, at the hands of their own authors or of later authorities, of

such articles or portions of articles as were found to fit accurately into their several places

— or by the inclusion under other headings of a consideration of controverted questions on which the

writers may have taken a strong personal view, itself of historical interest — their retention has been effected

so as to conform to the ideal of making the work as a whole representative of the best thought of a later

day.

Questions of Formal Arrangement

Both in the addition of new words for new. subjects, and in the employment of different words
for old subjects, the progress of the world demands a reconsideration from time to time of the

headings under which its accumulated experiences can best be presented in a work which
headings employs the dictionary plan as a key to its contents. No little trouble was therefore

expended, in planning the Eleventh Edition, on the attempt to suit the word to the sub-
ject in the way most likely to be generally useful for reference. While the selection has at times been,
of necessity, somewhat arbitrary, it has been guided from first to last by an endeavour to follow the
natural mental processes of the average educated reader. But it was impossible to interpret what

is "natural" in this connexion without consideration for the advances which have

. been made in terminological accuracy, alike in the technicalities of science and

sense. m tne forms of language adopted by precise writers, whose usage has become or

is rapidly becoming part of the common stock. The practice of modern schools
and the vocabulary of a modern curriculum, as well as the predominating example of expert

EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION xv

authorities, impose themselves gradually on the public mind, and constitute new conventions which
'are widely assimilated. In forecasting what would be for the convenience of a new generation of
readers, it has seemed best to aim at adopting the nearest approach to correct modern terminology,
while avoiding mere pedantry on the one hand, and on the other a useless abandonment of well-
established English custom.

It is easier, however, to lay down principles than to carry them out consistently in face of the ob-
stinacy of the materials with which one is dealing in an encyclopaedia which attempts to combine accu-
rate scholarship with general utility and convenience. In the case of biographical articles,
f -i ? -j j ^ . ,, , ,. A , ?,.,,. Pseudonyms.

for instance, it was decided that the proper headmgs were the names by which the in-
dividuals concerned are in fact commonly known. Thus "George Sand" is now dealt with under her
pen-name (Sand, George) and not under that of Madame Dudevant; "George Eliot" is no longer hid-
den away under her married name of Mrs Cross; and "Mark Twain" is taken as the permanent name
by which the world will know Mr Clemens. But it is not only in the case of pseudonyms that there
is a difficulty in deciding upon the heading which is most appropriate. In variance with
the practice of the Dictionary of National Biography, all articles on titled persons are here ^f^fl? /,ames
arranged under the title headings and not the family names. In principle it is believed
that this is much the more convenient system, for in most cases the public (especially outside the British
Islands) does not know what the family name of an English peer may be. Moreover, the system adopted
by the Dictionary of National Biography sacrifices a very important feature in connexion with these bio-
graphical articles, namely, the history of the title itself, which has often passed through several families
and can only be conveniently followed when all the holders are kept together. As a rule, this system
of putting peers under the headings of their titles agrees with the principle of adopting the names by
which people actually are called; but sometimes it is too glaringly otherwise. Nobody would think of
looking for Francis Bacon under the heading of Viscount St Albans, or for Horace Walpole under that
of Earl of Orford. In such cases what is believed to be the natural expectation of readers has
been consulted. The exceptional use, however, of the family name as a heading for persons of title has
been reserved strictly for what may be regarded as settled conventions, and where reasonably possi-
ble the rule has been followed; thus Harley and St John are dealt with as Earl of Oxford and Viscount
Bolingbroke respectively. On the other hand, when a celebrity is commonly known, not under his
family name but under a title which eventually was changed for a different one of higher rank, the more
convenient arrangement has seemed to be — notwithstanding general usage — to associate the article with
the higher title, and so to bring it into connexion with the historical peerage. Thus the account of the
statesman commonly called by his earlier title of Earl of Danby is deliberately placed
under his later title of Duke of Leeds, and that of Lord Castlereagh under Marquess of . se .°

Londonderry. If the result of such exceptions to the rule might seem to be that in cer-
tain cases a reader would not know where to turn, the answer is that a reference to the Index, where cross-
references are given, will decide. In the text of the work, although a great deal has been done to refer
a reader from one article to another, mere cross-references — such as " Danby, Earl of; see Leeds, Duke
of" — are not included as distinct entries; it was found that the number of such headings would
be very large, and they would only have duplicated the proper function of the Index, which
now acts in this respect as the real guide to the contents and should be regarded as an integral part of
the work.

The reference just made to the Dictionary of National Biography may here be supplemented by a
few words as to the British biographies in the Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica. The
whole standard of biographical writing of this kind has undoubtedly been raised by the labours of Sir
Leslie Stephen, Dr Sidney Lee, and their collaborators, in the compilation of that invaluable work; and
no subsequent publication could fail to profit, both by the scholarly example there set,
and by the results of the original research embodied in it. But in the corresponding Pr °g res st a
articles in the Encyclopedia Britannica advantage has been taken of the opportunity for biography.
further research and the incorporation of later information, and they represent an in-
dependent study, the details of which sometimes differ from what is given in the Dictionary, but must
not for that reason be thought in haste to be incorrect. Allowance being made for a somewhat different

xvi EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION

standard in the selection of individuals for separate biographies, and for the briefer treatment, the at-
tempt has been made to carry even a step forward the ideals of the Dictionary in regard to accuracy of
detail and critical judgment. This has largely been made possible by the existence of the Dictionary,
but the original work done in the Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica in the same field —
drawing as it can upon a number of biographical articles, already classics, in its earlier editions — gives

it an independent authority even in the sphere of British national biography. More-
. . over, the inclusion of biographies of eminent persons who died after the Dictionary was

supplemented in 1901, and of others still living in 19 10, results in a considerable extension
of the biographical area, even as regards individuals of British nationality in the narrowest sense. The
articles in the Encyclopaedia Britannica, however, are of course not limited to personages of the British
Islands. Not only are biographies here included of the great men and women of French, German,
Italian, Belgian, Dutch, Russian, Scandinavian, Japanese, and other foreign nationalities, as well as
of those of the ancient world, but the same standard of selection has been applied to American and
British Colonial biography as to English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish. Indeed the Encyclopaedia Bri-
tannica may now claim for the first time to supply a really adequate Dictionary of American National
Biography, covering all those with whom the citizens of the United States are nationally concerned.
It thus completes its representation of the English-speaking peoples, to all of whom English
history, even in its narrower sense, is a common heritage, and in its evolution a common ex-
ample.

Another form of the terminological problem, to which reference was made above, is found in
the transliteration of foreign names, and the conversion of the names of foreign places and countries

into English equivalents. As regards the latter, there is no English standard which can
i'f f , "be said to be universal, though in particular cases there is a convention which it would
names. be a bsurd to attempt to displace for any reason of supposed superior accuracy. It would

be pragmatical in the extreme to force upon the English-speaking world a system of call-
ing all foreign places by their local names, even though it might be thought that each nationality had
a right to settle the nomenclature of its country and the towns or districts within it. In general the
English conventions must stand. One of these days the world may agree that an international nomen-
clature is desirable and feasible, but not yet; and the country which its own citizens call Deutschland
and the French I'Allemagne still remains Germany to those who use the English language. Similarly

Cologne (Koln), Florence (Firenze), or Vienna (Wien) are bound to retain their English
th CU bte names in an English book. But all cases are not so simple. The world abounds in less

important places, for which the English names have no standardized spelling; different
English newspapers on a single day, or a single newspaper at intervals of a few weeks or months, give
them several varieties of form; and in Asia or Africa the latest explorer always seems to have a preference
for a new one which is unlike that adopted by rival geographers. When the Eleventh Edition of the
Encyclopaedia Britannica was started, the suggestion was made that the Royal Geographical Society
of London — the premier geographical society of the world — might co-operate in an attempt to secure

the adoption of a standard English geographical and topographical nomenclature. The
oartlcular Society, indeed, has a system of its own which to some extent aims at fulfilling this require-
ment, though it has failed to impose it upon general use; but unfortunately the Society's
system breaks down by admitting a considerable number of exceptions and by failing to settle a very
large number of cases which really themselves constitute the difficulty. The co-operation of the Royal
Geographical Society for the purpose of enabling the Encyclopaedia Britannica to give prominent literary
expression to an authoritative spelling for every place-name included within its articles or maps was
found to be impracticable; and it was therefore necessary for the Eleventh Edition to adopt a consistent
spelling which would represent its own judgment and authority. It is hoped that by degrees this spell-
ing may recommend itself in other quarters. Where reasonably possible, the local spelling popularized
by the usage of post-offices or railways has been preferred to any purely philological system of trans-
literation, but there are numerous cases where even this test of public convenience breaks down and some
form of Anglicization becomes essential to an English gazetteer having an organic unity of its own. Apart
from the continuance of English conventions which appeared sufficiently crystallized, the most authori-

EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION xvii

tative spelling of the foreign name has been given its simplest English transliteration, preference being
I given, in cases of doubt, to the form, for instance in African countries, adopted by the European na-
jtion in possession or control. In the absence of any central authority or international „ . . .
agreement, the result is occasionally different in some slight degree from any common
English variant, but this cannot well be helped when English variants are so capricious, and none per-
sistent; and the names selected are those which for purposes of reference combine the most accuracy with
the least disturbance of familiar usage. Thus the German African colony of Kamerun is here called
Cameroon, an English form which follows the common practice of English transliteration in regard
ro its initial letter, but departs, in deference to the German official nomenclature, from the older
English Cameroons, a plural no longer justifiable, although most English newspapers and maps still
perpetuate it.

In the case of personal names, wherever an English spelling has become sufficiently established
both in literature and in popular usage it has been retained, irrespectively of any strict linguistic value.
Foreign names in English shape really become English words, and they are so treated
here; e.g. Alcibiades (not Alkibiades), Juggernaut (not Jagganath). But discrimination . •! . "*"" es
as to where convenience rather than philological correctness should rule has been made languages.
all the more difficult, especially with names representing Arabic or other Oriental
originals, by the strong views of individual scholars, who from time to time attempt in their own writ-
ings to impose their own transliterations upon others, in the face of well-established convention. In
the course of the preparation' of the Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, various eminent
Arabic scholars have given strong expression to their view as to the English form of the name of the
Prophet of Islam, preference being given to that of Muhammad. But the old form Mahomet is a well-
established English equivalent; and it is here retained for convenience in identification where the
Prophet himself is referred to, the form Mahommed being generally used in distinction for other per-
sons of this name. Purists may be dissatisfied with this concession to popular usage; our choice is, we
believe, in the interest of the general public. If only the "correct" forms of many Oriental names had
been employed, they would be unrecognizable except to scholars. On the other hand, while the retention
of Mahomet is a typical instance of the preference given to a vernacular spelling when there is one, and
customary forms are adopted for Arabic and other names in the headings and for ordinary use through-
out the work, in every case the more accurate scientific spelling is also given in the appropriate article.
While deference has naturally been paid to the opinion of individual scholars, as far as possible, in connex-
ion with articles contributed by them, uniformity throughout the work (a necessity for the purpose of
Index-making, if for no other) has been secured by transliterating on the basis of schemes which have
been specially prepared for each language; for this purpose the best linguistic opinions have been consulted,
but due weight has been given to intelligibility on the part of a public already more or less accustomed
to a stereotyped spelling. In the case of Babylonian names, a section of the general article Babylonia
is specially devoted to an elucidation of the divergences between the renderings given by individual
Assyriologists.

While the Encyclopaedia Britannica has aimed, in this matter of local and personal nomenclature,
at conciliating the opinion of scholars with public usage and convenience, and the present edition
makes an attempt to solve the problem on reasonable lines, it should be understood
that the whole question of the uniform representation in English of foreign place and " c . an

personal names is still in a highly unsatisfactory condition. Scholars will never get
the public to adopt the very peculiar renderings, obscured by complicated accents, which do service in
purely learned circles and have a scientific justification as part of a quasi-mathematical device for accurate
pronunciation. Any attempt to transliterate into English on a phonetic basis has, moreover, a radical
weakness which is too often ignored. So long as pronunciation is not itself standardized, and so long
as the human ear does not uniformly carry to a standardized human brain the sound that is uniformly
pronounced — and it will be long before these conditions can be fulfilled — even a phonetic system of spell-
ing must adopt some convention; and in that case it is surely best, if a well-recognized convention already
exists and is in use among the public at large, to adopt it rather than to invent a new one. The point
is, indeed, of more than formal importance. So long as scholars and the public are at issue on the very

xviii EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION

essentials of the comprehension of scholarly books, which are made unreadable by the use of diacritical
signs and unpronounceable spellings, culture cannot advance except within the narrowest of sects.
This incompatibility is bad for the public, but it is also bad for scholarship. While the general reader

is repelled, the Orientalist is neglected, — to the loss of both. This criticism, which sub-
o com- stant j a i]y a ppii es to many other formal aspects of modern learning, may be unwelcome

to the professors, but it is the result of an extended experience in the attempt to bring
accurate knowledge into digestible shape for the wide public for whom the Encyclopedia Britannica is
intended. It is indeed partly because of the tendency of modern science and modern scholarship
to put the artificial obstacles of a technical jargon in the path of people even of fairly high
education, that it becomes imperative to bring both parties upon a common ground, where the
world at large may discover the meaning of the learned research to which otherwise it is apt to
be a stranger.

With regard to the various departments of natural science, there was a tendency in previous
editions of the Encyclopedia Britannica to make inclusive treatises of the longer articles, and

to incorporate under the one general heading of the science itself matter which
c V l c would more naturally form a separate, if subordinate, subject. An attempt has now

been made to arrange the material rather according to the heading under which, in an
encyclopaedia, students would expect to find it. In any text-book on Light, for instance, the
technical aspects of aberration, refraction, reflection, interference, phosphorescence, &c, would be
discussed concurrently as part of the whole science, in so many chapters of a continuous treatise.
But each such chapter or subdivision in a treatise becomes in an encyclopaedia arranged on the

dictionary plan, matter to be explained where the appropriate word occurs in the alpha-

a ueo betical order of headings. Under the name of the common subject of the science as a

encyclopaedia . ° J

method. whole, its history and general aspects are discussed, but the details concerned with the

separate scientific questions which fall within its subject-matter — on each of which often
a single specialist has unique authority — are relegated to distinct articles, to the headings of which
the general account becomes, if required, a key or pointer. This arrangement of the scientific
material — a general article acting as pointer to subsidiary articles, and the latter relieving the
general account of details which would overload it — has been adopted throughout the Eleventh
Edition; and in the result it is believed that a more complete and at the same time more
authoritative survey has been attained, within the limits possible to such a work, than ever
before. The single-treatise plan, which was characteristic of the Ninth Edition, is not only
cumbrous in a work of reference, but lent itself to the omission altogether, under the general

heading, of specific issues which consequently received no proper treatment at all
thTot™ T srle an y wnere m the book; whereas the dictionary plan, by automatically providing
treatise. headings throughout the work, under which, where appropriate, articles of more or

less length may be put, enables every subject to be treated, comprehensively or in
detail, yet as part of an organic whole, by means of careful articulation adapted to the requirements of
an intelligent reader.

In preparing the Eleventh Edition a useful check on the possibility of such accidental omissions
as are apt to occur when the treatise plan is pursued, was provided by the decision, arrived at

independently of any question of subdivision, to revert more closely to the original
headings * orm °^ ^ e Encyclopaedia Britannica, and to make separate headings of any words

which, purely as words, had any substantial interest either for historical or philological
reasons, or as requiring explanation even for English-speaking readers. 1 The labours of Sir James
Murray and his colleagues on the Oxford New English Dictionary, which has only become accessible
since the Ninth Edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica was published, have enabled a precise
examination to be made of all the possible headings of this kind. Such words, or groups of words,
together with proper names, personal, geographical, zoological, etc., obviously exhaust the headings

1 Though, in pursuance of the ideal of making the whole book self-explanatory, a great many purely technical terms have been given their
interpretation only in the course of the article on the science or art in which they are used, even these are included, with the correct references, among
the headings in the Index. Similarly, biographical accounts are given of far more persons than have separate biographies. The Index in all such
cases must be consulted, whether for word or name.

EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION xix

under which the subject matter of an encyclopaedia can be subdivided; and thus the dictionary plan,
Combined with a complete logical analysis of the contents of the various arts and sciences, forms a
omprehensive basis for ensuring that no question of any substantial interest can be omitted. As
rule the headings suggested by a logical subdivision of subject, as approved by the professional
r scientific expert, follow the usage of words which is natural to any one speaking the
nglish language; but where, owing to the existence of some accepted terminology in Im P ortance ot
rxy particular line of inquiry, it departs from this ordinary usage, the dictionary plan accuracy%
still enables a cross-reference to guide the reader, and at the same time to impart instruc-
tion in the history or technical niceties of a vocabulary which is daily outgrowing the range even of the
educated classes. It is highly and increasingly important that mere words should be correctly evaluated,
arid connected with the facts for which properly they stand.

Some Points as to Substance.

In considering the substance, rather than the form, of the Eleventh Edition, it may be remarked
first that, • as a work of reference no less than as a work for reading and study, its preparation has
been dominated throughout by the historical point of view. Any account which
purports to describe what actually goes on to-day, whether in the realm of mind or in the hf t 1°
that of matter, is inevitably subject to change as years or even months pass by; but
what has been, if accurately recorded, remains permanently true as such. In the larger sense the
historian has here to deal not only with ancient and modern political history, as ordinarily under-
stood, but with past doings in every field, and thus with the steps by which existing conditions have
been reached. Geography and exploration, religion and philosophy, pure and applied science, art
and literature, commerce and industry, law and economics, war and peace, sport and games, — all
subjects are treated in these volumes not only on their merits, but as in continual evolution, the
successive stages in which are of intrinsic interest on their own account, but also throw light on what
goes before and after. The .whole range of history, thus considered, has, however, been immensely
widened in the Eleventh Edition as compared with the Ninth. The record of the past, thrown farther
and farther back by the triumphs of modern archaeology, is limited on its nearer confines only
by the date at which the Encyclopcedia Britannica is published. Any contemporary description is
indeed liable to become inadequate almost as soon as it is in the hands of the reader; but the
available resources have 'been utilized here to the utmost, so that the salient facts up to the autumn
of the year 1910 might be included throughout, not merely as isolated events, but as part of a con-
sistent whole, conceived in the spirit of the historian. Thus only can the fleeting present be
true to its relation with later developments, which it is no part of the task of an encyclopaedia
to prophesy.

In this connexion it is advisable to explain that while the most recent statistics have been
incorporated when they really represented conditions of historic value, the notion that economic
development can be truly shown merely by giving statistics for the last year available
is entirely false, and for this reason in many cases there has been no attempt merely statistics.
to be "up-to-date" by inserting them. Statistics are used here as an illustration of
the substantial existing conditions and of real progress. For the statistics of one year, and especially
for those of the latest year, the inquirer must necessarily go to annual publications, not to an
encyclopaedia which attempts to show the representative conditions of abiding importance. In such
a work statistics are only one useful method of expressing historic evolution; their value varies con-
siderably according to the nature of the subject dealt with; and the figures of the year which by
accident is the last before publication would often be entirely misleading, owing to their being
subject to some purely temporary influence. In general, far less tabular matter has been included
in the Eleventh Edition than in the Ninth. Where it is used, it is not as a substitute for descriptive
accounts, which can put the facts in readable form much better, but more appropriately as showing
concisely and clearly the differences between the conditions at different periods. As years pass by,

xx EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION

and new statistics on all subjects become accessible, those which have been given here for their

historical value are, as such, unaffected by the lapse of time; but if they had been slavishly inserted

simply because they were the latest in the series of years immediately preceding publication, their

precarious connexion with any continuous evolution would soon have made them futile. So much

has been done in the Eleventh Edition to bring the record of events, whether in political history or

in other articles, down to the latest available date, and thus to complete the picture of the world as

it was in 1910, that it is necessary to deprecate any misconception which might otherwise arise from

the fact that statistics are inserted not as events in themselves — this they may or may not be,

according to the subject-matter — but as a method of expressing the substantial results of human

activity; for that purpose they must be given comparatively, selected as representative, and weighed

in the balance of the judicious historian.

While every individual article in an encyclopaedia which aims at authoritative exposition must

be informed by the spirit of history, it is no less essential that the spirit of science should move over

_. ... . the construction of the work as a whole. Whatever may be the deficiencies of its

The spirit of J

science. execution, the Eleventh Edition has at any rate this advantage to those who use it,

that the method of simultaneous preparation, already referred to, has enabled every
subject to be treated systematically. Not only in the case of "science" itself, but in history, law, or
any other kind of knowledge, its contributors were all assisting to carry out a preconcerted scheme,
each aware of the relation of his or her contribution to others in the same field; and the inter-
dependence of the related parts must be remembered by any reader who desires to do justice to the
treatment of any large subject. Cross-references and other indications in the text are guides to the
system employed, which are supplemented in greater detail by the elaborate Index. But the
scientific spirit not only affects the scheme of construction as a whole: it has modified the individual
treatment. Attention may perhaps be drawn to two particular points in this connexion, — the
increased employment of the comparative method, and the attempt to treat opinion and controversy
objectively, without partisanship or sectarianism.

The title of the Encyclopaedia Britannica has never meant that it is restricted in its accounts of
natural science, law, religion, art, or other subjects, to what goes on in the British dominions; but a

_. considerable extension has been given in the Eleventh Edition to the amount of

The compara- . . . ° ...*., . -.

tive method, information it contains concerning the corresponding activities m other countries. By

approaching each subject, as far as possible, on its merits, the contributors in every
department aim at appraising the achievements of civilization from whatever source they have
arisen, and at the same time, by inserting special sections on different countries when this course is
appropriate, they show the variations in practice under different systems of government or custom. But
the subjects are not only arranged comparatively in this sense: new branches of study have arisen which
are of chief importance mainly for the results attained by the comparative method. The impetus given
to comparative sociology by Herbert Spencer, the modern interest in comparative law, religion,
folklore, anthropology, psychology and philology, have resulted in the accumulation of a mass of detail
which it becomes the task of an encyclopaedia produced on the plan of organized co-operation to reduce
to manageable proportions and intelligible perspective. Comparative bibliography, so much fostered
of late years by the growth of great library organizations, undergoes in its turn the same process; and
expert selection makes the references to the best books a guide to the student without overwhelming
him. To deal here with all the lines of new research which have benefited by the comparative method in
recent years would trench unnecessarily upon the scope of the contents of the work, where sufficient
is already written. One illustration must suffice of a science in which the new treatment affects both
the substance and the form of the articles in the Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica. Com-
parative Anatomy, as a branch of Zoology, can no longer be scientifically separated from Human Anatomy.
The various parts of the human body are therefore systematically treated under separate headings,
in connexion not only with the arts of medicine and surgery, which depend on a knowledge of each
particular structure, but with the corresponding features in the rest of the animal kingdom, the study
of which continually leads to a better understanding of the human organism. Thus comparative anatomy
and human anatomy take their places, with physiology and pathology, as interdependent and inter-

EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION xxi

connected branches of the wider science of Zoology, in which all the lines of experimental inquiry and
progressive knowledge lead up to a more efficient service of man and society.

In stating "the position taken by the Encyclopedia, Britannica in relation to the active con-
troversies of the time," Spencer Baynes, in his Preface to the first volume of the Ninth Edition
(1875), referred to the conflict of opinion then raging in regard to religion and
science. "In this conflict," he said, "a work like the Encyclopaedia is not called upon .
to take any direct part. It has to do with knowledge, rather than opinion, and to
deal with all subjects from a critical and historical rather than a dogmatic point of view. It cannot

Ibe the organ of any sect or party in science, religion or philosophy." The same policy has in-
spired the Eleventh Edition. The Encyclopaedia Britannica itself has no side or party; it attempts
to give representation to all parties, sects and sides. In a work indeed which deals with opinion and
controversy at all, it is manifestly impossible for criticism to be colourless; its value as a source of
authoritative exposition would be very different from what it is if individual contributors were
not able to state their views fully and fearlessly. But every effort has been made to obtain, impar-
tially, such statements of doctrine and belief in matters of religion and similar questions as are sat-
isfactory to those who hold them, and to deal with these questions, so far' as criticism is concerned, in
such a way that the controversial points may be understood and appreciated, without prejudice to the
argument. The easy way to what is sometimes considered impartiality is to leave controversy out
altogether; that would be to avoid responsibility at the cost of perpetuating ignorance, for it is
only in the light of the controversies about them that the importance of these questions of doctrine
and opinion can be realized. The object of the present work is to furnish accounts of all sub-
jects which shall really explain their meaning to those who desire accurate information. Amid
the variety of beliefs which are held with sincere conviction by one set of people or another,
impartiality does not consist in concealing criticism, or in withholding the knowledge of divergent
opinion, but in an attitude of scientific respect which is precise in stating a belief in the terms,
and according to the interpretation, accepted by those who hold it. In order to give the fullest
expression to this objective treatment of questions which in their essence are dogmatic, con-
tributors of all shades of opinion have co-operated in the work of the Eleventh Edition of the
Encyclopedia Britannica. They have been selected as representative after the most careful con-
sideration and under the highest sense of editorial responsibility. The proportion of space devoted
to these subjects is necessarily large, because they, bulk largely in the minds of thinking people;
and while they are treated more comprehensively than before, individual judgments as to their relative
claims may naturally vary. The general estimates which prevail among the countries which repre-
sent Western civilization are, however, in practical agreement on this point, and this consensus
is the only ultimate criterion. In one respect the Eleventh Edition is fortunate in the time
of its appearance. Since the completion of the Ninth Edition the controversies which at that
time raged round the application of historical and scientific criticism to religion have become less
acute, and an objective statement of the problems, for instance, connected with the literary
history of the Bible is now less encumbered with the doubts as to the effect on personal religion
which formerly prevailed. Science and theology have learnt to dwell together; and a reverent
attitude towards religion, and indeed towards all the great religions, may be combined,
without arriere-pensee, with a scientific comparative study of the phenomena of their institutions and
development.

Modern scientific progress has naturally affected other aspects of the Eleventh Edition no less
than the literary text; and a word may be added here as to the illustrations and maps. Photography
and reproductive processes generally now combine to enable much more to be done than was
possible a generation ago to assist verbal explanations and descriptions by an appeal to the eye,
and to make this appeal scientifically accurate both in form and colour- The older pictorial material
in the Ninth Edition has undergone the same critical survey as the text; and a
large proportion of what now appears in the Eleventh Edition is not only new, but illustration
represents more adequately the modern principles of the art of illustration. The
microscope on the one hand, and the museum on the other, have become in an increasing degree the

xxii EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION

instruments for attaining a scientific presentment in pictorial form of the realities of science and art.
Whether for elucidating the technicalities of zoology or engineering machinery, or for showing concrete
examples of ancient or modern statuary or painting, the draughtsman or the photographer has
co-operated in the Eleventh Edition with the writers of the various articles, so that as far as possible
their work may be accurately illustrated, in the correct sense, as distinct from any object of
beautifying the book itself by pictures which might merely be interesting on their own account.
Similarly the maps are not collected in an atlas, but accompany the topographical articles to which
they are appropriate. Whether plate-maps or text-maps, they were all laid out with the scope,
orthographical system, and other requirements of the text in view; either the cartographers have
worked with the text before them — often representing new geographical authority on the part of
the contributors — or they have been directed by the geographical department of the editorial staff
as to the sources on which they should draw; and the maps have been indexed as an atlas is, so that
any topographical article not accompanied by a map has its appropriate map-reference in the general
index. The more important coloured maps have been specially prepared by Messrs Justus Perthes
of Gotha, the publishers of Slieler's Atlas, which in some instances has served as their basis; and the others
have been made under the direction of Mr Emery Walker of London, in collaboration with the editorial
staff. Mr Emery Walker's great knowledge and experience in the work of illustration has throughout
been put ungrudgingly at the service of the Eleventh Edition.

Conclusion.

In expressing, on behalf of the editorial staff and the publishers, their indebtedness to the large
number of contributors who have assisted in carrying the work to its completion, the Editor would be
glad to refer to many individuals among the eminent writers who have given of their best. But the
list is so long that he must content himself with a word of general thanks. It is more important to
give public credit here to those who, without actually being members of the editorial staff, have taken
an intimate part with them in planning and organizing the Eleventh Edition. It was necessary for
the Editor to be able to rely on authoritative specialists for advice and guidance in regard to particular
sciences. Foremost among these stand the subjects of Zoology and Botany, which Were under
the charge respectively of Dr P. Chalmers Mitchell, Secretary of the Zoological Society of London, and
Dr A. B. Rendle, Keeper of the department of Botany, British Museum. Dr Chalmers Mitchell's
Advisers on assistance in regard to Zoology extended also to the connected aspects of Comparative
special Anatomy (in association with Mr F. G. Parsons), Physiology and Palaeontology. The

subjects. whole field of Biology was covered by the joint labours of Dr Chalmers Mitchell and

Dr Rendle; and their supervision, in all stages of the work, gave unity to the co-operation of the numer-
ous contributors of zoological and botanical articles. The treatment of Geology was planned by Mr H.
B. Woodward; and with him were associated Dr J. A. Howe, who took charge of the department of
Topographical Geology, Dr J. S. Flett, who covered that of Petrology, and Mr L. J. Spencer and Mr
F. W. Rudler, who dealt comprehensively with Mineralogy and Crystallography. The late Dr Simon
Newcomb planned and largely helped to carry out the articles dealing with Astronomy. Prof. J. A.
Fleming acted in a similar capacity as regards Electricity and Magnetism. Prof. Hugh Callendar was
responsible for the treatment of Heat; Prof. Poynting for that of Sound; and the late Prof. C. J. Joly,
Royal Astronomer in Ireland, planned the articles dealing with Light and Optics. On literary subjects the
Editor had the sympathetic collaboration of Mr Edmund Gosse, Librarian to the House of Lords; and
Mr Marion H. Spielmann, on artistic subjects, also gave valuable help.

Among those whose association with the editorial staff was particularly close were the Rev. E.
M. Walker of Oxford, as regards subjects of ancient Greek history; Mr Stanley Cook of Cambridge,
who was the Editor's chief adviser on questions of Old Testament criticism and Semitic learning
generally; Dr T. Ashby, Director of the British School of Archaeology at Rome, who dealt with
Italian topography and art; and Mr Israel Abrahams, who was consulted on Jewish subjects.
Dr Peter Giles of Cambridge undertook the survey of Comparative Philology, and Sir Thomas

EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION xxiii

Barclay that of International Law. Others who gave valuable advice and assistance in regard to
their various subjects were— Lord Rayleigh and Mr W. C. D. Whetham (Physical Science), Sir
Archibald Geikie (Geology), Sir E. Maunde Thompson (Palaeography and Bibliology), Mr J. H.
Round (History and Genealogy), Mr Phene Spiers (Architecture), Mr W. Burton (Ceramics), Mr
t! M. Young of Manchester (Textile Industries), Prof. W. E. Dalby (Engineering), Dr G. A.
Grierson (Indian Languages), the Rev. G. W. Thatcher (Arabic), Mr H. Stuart Jones (Roman
History and Art), Dr D. G. Hogarth and Prof. Ernest Gardner (Hellenic Archaeology), the late Dr.
W. Fream (Agriculture), Mr W. F. Sheppard (Mathematics), Mr Arthur H. Smith (Classical Art),
Dr Postgate (Latin Literature), Mr Fitzmaurice Kelly (Spanish Literature), Prof. J. G. Robertson
(German Literature), Mr J. S. Cotton (India), Mr Edmund Owen (Surgery), Mr Donald Tovey (Music),
Prof. H. M. Howe of Columbia University (Mining), Prof. W. M. Davis and Prof. D. W. Johnson of
Harvard (American Physiography).

These names may be some indication of the amount of expert assistance and advice on which the
editorial staff were able to draw, first when they were engaged in making preparations for the Eleventh
Edition, then in organizing the whole body of contributors, and finally in combining
their united resources in revising the work so as to present it in the finished state in which support
it is given to the public. Constituting as they did a college of research, a centre which
drew to itself constant suggestions from all who were interested in the dissemination of accurate
information, its members had the advantage of communication with many other leaders of opinion,
to whose help, whether in Europe or America, it is impossible to do adequate justice here. The
interest shown in the undertaking may be illustrated by the fact that his late Majesty King Edward VII.
graciously permitted his own unique collection of British and foreign orders to be used for the purpose
of making the coloured plates which accompany the article Knighthood. Makers of history like Lord
Cromer and Sir George Goldie added their authority to the work by assisting its contributors, even while
not becoming contributors themselves. Custodians of official records, presidents and secretaries of
institutions, societies and colleges, relatives or descendants of the subjects of biographies, governmental
or municipal officers, librarians, divines, editors, manufacturers, — from many such quarters answers
have been freely given to applications for information which is now embodied in the Encyclopaedia
Britannica.

In the principal Assistant-Editor, Mr Walter Alison Phillips, the Editor had throughout as his
chief ally a scholarly historian of wide interests and great literary capacity. Prof. J. T. Shotwell,
of Columbia University, U.S.A., in the earlier years of preparation, acted as joint _. e/-/y
Assistant-Editor; and Mr Ronald McNeill did important work as additional Assistant-
Editor while the later stages were in progress. To Mr Charles Crawford Whinery was entrusted the
direction of a separate office in New York for the purpose of dealing with American contributors and
with articles on American subjects; to his loyal and efficient co-operation, both on the special subjects
assigned to the American office, and in the final revision of the whole work, too high a tribute cannot
be paid. The other principal members of the editorial staff in London, responsible for different depart-
ments, were Mr J. Malcolm Mitchell, Dr T. A. Ingram, Mr H. M. Ross, Mr Charles Everitt, Mr O. J. R.
Howarth, Mr F. R. Cana, Mr C. 0. Weatherly, Mr J. H. Freese, Mr K. G. Jayne, Mr Roland Truslove,
Mr C. F. Atkinson, Mr A. W. Holland, the Rev. A. J. Grieve, Mr. W. E. Garrett Fisher and Mr Arthur
B. Atkins, to the last of whom, as private secretary to the Editor-in-Chief, the present writer owes a
special debt of gratitude for unfailing assistance in dealing with all the problems of editorial control.
On the New York staff Mr Whinery had the efficient help of Mr R. Webster, Dr N. D. Mereness, Dr
F. S. Philbrick, Dr W. K. Boyd, Dr W. O. Scroggs, Mr W. T. Arndt, Mr W. L. Corbin and Mr G. Gladden.

A word must be added concerning a somewhat original feature in the editorial mechanism, the
Indexing department. This department was organized from the first so that it might serve a double
purpose. By indexing the articles as they came in, preparation could gradually be The j ndex
made for compiling the Index which would eventually be published; and as the reference-
cards gradually accumulated under systematic index-headings, the comparison of work done by different
writers might assist the editing of the text itself by discovering inconsistencies or inaccuracies in points
of detail or suggesting the incorporation of additional material. The text of the Eleventh Edition owes

xxiv EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION

much in this way to suggestions originating among the staff of ladies concerned, among whom particular
mention may be made of Miss Griffiths, Miss Tyler, and Miss Edmonds. The actual Index, as published,
represents a concentration and sifting of the work of the Indexing department; and in order to put it into
shape a further stage in the organization was necessary, which was carried through under the able direction
of Miss Janet Hogarth. The completion of the Index volume, which all those who wish to make full use
of the Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica should regard as the real guide to its contents,
brought finally into play all parts of the editorial machinery which had been engaged in the making of
the work itself, — a vast engine of co-operative effort, dedicated to the service of the public.

HUGH CHISHOLM.

London,

December 10, 1910.

INITIALS USED IN VOLUME I. TO IDENTIFY INDIVIDUAL
CONTRIBUTORS, 1 WITH THE HEADINGS OF THE
ARTICLES IN THIS VOLUME SO SIGNED.

A. A. R.*

A. C. L.
A. D.

A. E. S.

A. F. B.
A. F. P.

A. Gir.

A. G. H.
A. H. J. G.

A. J. B.
A. J. G.

A. Mw.

M. C.

M. CI.

R. W.

Si.

W.*

W. H.*

M.*

B.*

E.*

C. F. A.

inian Church.

Arthur Alcock Rambaut, M.A., D.Sc, F.R.S. f

Radcliffe Observer, Oxford. Professor of Astronomy in the University of Dublin"! Airy.
and Royal Astronomer of Ireland, 1892-1897. I

Sir Alfred Comyn Lyall, K.C.B. f Abdur Rahman;

See the biographical article: Lyall, Sir A. C. I Afghanistan: History.

Austin Dobson, LL.D. S Addison (in part).

See the biographical article :Dobson, Henry Austin. I

Arthur Everett Shipley, M.A., D.Sc, F.R.S. J

Fellow and Tutor of Christ's College, Cambridge. Reader in Zoology in Cam- "1 Acanthocephala.
bridge University. Joint-editor of the Cambridge Natural History. I

Aldred Farrer Barker, M.Sc. /Alpaca.

Professor of Textile' Industries at Bradford Technical College. \

Albert Frederick Pollard, M.A., F.R.Hist.Soc. f

Fellow of All Souls' College, Oxford ; Professor of English History in the University ■{ Aconcio.
of London. Assistant-editor of the Dictionary of National Biography, 1893-1901. I

Arthur Girault. J

Professor of Political Economy at the University of Poitiers. Member of the "1 Algeria: History.
International Colonial Institute. Author of Principes de colonisation (1907-1908). I

A. G. Hadcock (late R.A.) / Ammunition (in part).

Manager of the Gun Department, Elswick Works, Newcastle-on-Tyne. L

Abel Hendy Jones Greenidge, M.A., D.Litt. (Oxon.) (d. 1905).

Formerly Fellow and Lecturer of Hertford College, Oxford, and of St John's H Agrarian Laws (tn part).

College, Oxford. Author of Infamia in Roman Law ; &c.
Alfred Joshua Butler, M.A., D.Litt.

Fellow and Bursar of Brasenose College, Oxford. Fellow of Eton College.

Rev. Alexander J. Grieve, M.A., B.D. f Adoptianism; Alford;

Professor of New Testament and Church History, Yorkshire United Independent ~\ AISOD V * Ambrose St
College, Bradford. [_ ¥» •> »

Allan Mawer M.A J" ffithelflaed; JEthelred I.;

Professor of Enghsh Language and Literature, Armstrong College, Newcastle-on- H ^Ethelstan: /EthelWeard.
Tyne; formerly Fellow of Gonville and Cams College, Cambridge. L =«"*"» ™""™ "«

Agnes Mary Clerke. f Algol.

See the biographical article: Clerke, A. M. \

Agnes Muriel Clay (Mrs Edward Wilde). f ,.

Late Resident Tutor of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. Joint-editor of Sources of A Agrarian Laws (in part).
Roman History, 133-70 B.C. t

Alfred Russel Wallace, LL.D., D.C.L., F.R.S. f Acclimatization.

See the biographical article : Wallace, A. R. \

Arthur Sidgwick, M.A., LL.D. (Glasgow). f , . .

Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford; formerly Reader in Greek, Oxford Uni- -j AescnylUS.
versity. L

Arthur Willey, D.Sc, F.R.S. J Amphioxus.

Director of Colombo Museum, Ceylon. I

Arthur William Holland. f Aberdeen, 4th Earl of.

Formerly Scholar of St John's College, Oxford. Bacon Scholar of Gray's Inn, 1900. I

Budgett Meakin (d. 1906). J Almohades (in part);

Author of The Moors; The Land of the Moors; The Moorish Empire; &c. \ Almoravides (in part).

Charles Bemont, D. es L., Litt.D. (Oxon.). -f Asenais

See the biographical article : Bemont, C. \ «gcudis.

-| Abyss

J Algebra: History.

Charles Everett, M.A., F.C.S., F.G.S., F.R.A.S.
Magdalen College, Oxford.

' Charles Francis Atkinson. J Alexandria: Battle.

Formerly Scholar of Queen's College, Oxford. Captain, 1st City of London (Royal 1 American Civil War;
Fusiliers). Author of The Wilderness and Cold Harbour. L Ammunition (in part).

1 A complete list, showing all individual contributors, with the articles so signed, appears in the final volume.

xxv

XXVI
C. F. R.
C. L.

C. MI.

C. Pf.

C. PI.
C. R. B.

C. S. P.*

C. We.

D. B. Ma.

D. G. H.

INITIALS AND HEADINGS OF ARTICLES

D. H.

D. M.
D. Mn.

D. M. W.

E. B.*

E.Br.

E. Ch.
E. C. B.
E. G.

E. Gr.
E. He.
E. H. M.

E. J. R.
E. M. W.
E. 0.*

fAlcott, A.
I Alcott, L.

< Afrldi; Agra.

B.:

Minister Pleni-
1895-1900, and"

Author

Charles F. Richardson, Ph.D.

Professor of English, Dartmouth College, U.S.A.

H. Caldwell Lipsett.

Formerly Editor of the Civil and Military Gazette, Lahore, India.

Chedomille Mijatovich.

Senator of the Kingdom of Servia. Envoy Extraordinary and
potentiary of the King of Servia to the Court of St James's,
1902-1903.

Christian Pfister, D. es L.

Professor at the Sorbonne, Paris. Chevalier of the Legion of Honour.
£tudes sur le rlgne de Robert le Pieux.

Rev. Charles Plummer, M.A.

Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford. Author of Life and Times of Alfred the
Great; &c. Ford's Lecturer, 1901. L

Charles Raymond Beazley, M.A., D.Litt. r

Professor of Modern History in the University of Birmingham. Formerly Fellow of J Andrew Of Lonejumeau
Merton College, Oxford, and University Lecturer in the History of Geography. '
Author oi'Henry the Navigator ; The Dawn of Modern Geography ; &c.

Rev. Charles Stanley Phillips.

King's College, Cambridge. Gladstone Memorial Prize, 1904.
Cecil Weatherly.

Formerly Scholar of Queen's College, Oxford. Barrister-at-La\v.

Duncan Black Macdonald, M.A., D.D.

Professor of Semitic Languages, Hartford Theological Seminary, U.S.A

Alexander of Servia.

Alcuin.

Alfred the Great.

•1

J JEthelred

II.

David George Hogarth, M.A.

Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford.
Fellow of the British Academy. Excavated at Paphos, 1888; Naukratis, 1899
and 1903; Ephesus, 1904-1905; Assiut, 1906-1907; Director, British School at
Athens, 1897-1900; Director, Cretan Exploration Fund, 1899.

David Hannay.

Formerly British Vice-Consul at Barcelona.
1 2 17-1688; Life of Emilio Castelar; &c.

Rev. D. Meiklejohn.

Author of Short History of Royal Navy,

■I Advertisement (in pari).

r Abu Hanifa;
\ Ahmad Ibn Hanbal.

Adalia; Adana; Aegean
Civilization; Aintab; Aleppo;

Alexandria; Alexandretta;

Alexandria Troas;

Amasia; Anazarbus.

Abbadides; Abd-Ar-Rahman;

Admiral; Agreda;

Almogavares; Almohades;

Almoravides; Alphonso;

America: History;

American War of Inde-
pendence: Naval Operations;

American War of 1812.

Adams, John Couch.

{

i Alexander, W.

Alexander
Alexander

Rev. Dugald Macfadyen, M.A.

Minister of South Grove Congregational Church, Highgate.
Sir Donald Mackenzie Wallace, K.C.I.E., K.C.V.O.

Extra Groom of the Bedchamber to H.M. King George V. Director of the Foreign

Department of The Times, 1891-1899. Author of Russia.

Ernest C. F. Babelon.

Professor at the College de France. Keeper of the Dept. of Medals and Antiquities J. Africa, Roman
at the Bibliotheque Nationale. Chevalier of the Legion of Honour.

Ernest Barker, M.A. r

Fellow and^LectureMn Modern History, St John's College, Oxford. Formerly -J Amalric.

L.; Allon, H.

II., of Russia;
III., of Russia.

Fellow and Tutor of Merton College.

Edward Channing, Ph.D.

Professor of History, Harvard University.

Right Rev. Edward Cuthbert Butler, O.S.B.
Abbot of Downside Abbey, Bath.

D.Litt.

Edmund Gosse, LL.D.

See the biographical article :

Gosse, Edmund.

Ernest Arthur Gardner, M.A.

See the biographical article: Gardner, Percy.

Edward Heawood, M.A.

Librarian to Royal Geographical Society, London.
Ellis Hovell Minns, M.A.

Author of Geography of Africa ; &c.

r Adams, John;

, Adams, John Quincy;

I Adams, Samuel.

/ Acoemeti.

(Aasen; Almqvist;
Anacreontics;
Andersen, Hans Christian.
1 Abae; Acarnania;
\ Aegina.

r Africa: Geography, Economics,
\ Bibliography.

1 Alani.

Lecturer and Assistant Librarian, and formerly Fellow, Pembroke College, Cam-
bridge. University Lecturer in Palaeography.

Emanuel Joseph Ristori, Ph.D., Assoc.M.Inst.C.E.
Member of Council, Institute of Metals.

Rev. Edward Mewburn Walker, M.A.

Fellow, Senior Tutor and Librarian of Queen's College, Oxford.
Edmund Owen, M.B., F.R.C.S., LL.D., D.Sc.

Consulting Surgeon to St Mary's Hospital, London, and to the Children's Hospital, I Abdomen;

Late Fxaminer in Surgery at the Universities of Cambridge, 1 Abscess; Adenoids.
Author of A Manual of Anatomy for Senior Students. [_

i Aluminium.
/Aegina: History.

Great Ormond Street.
Durham and London.

INITIALS AND HEADINGS OF ARTICLES xxvii

E. Pr. Edgar Prestage. f

Special Lecturer in Portuguese Literature in the University of Manchester; J Aleoforado.

Examiner in Portuguese in the Universities of London, Manchester, &c. Com-
mendador, Portuguese Order of S. Thiago. L

Edwyn Robert Bevan, M.A. 4 Alexander the Great.

New College, Oxford. Author of The House of Seleucus. *-

Rev. Ethelred Leonard Taunton (d. 1007). f Acolyte;

Author of The English Black Monks of St Benedict ; History of the Jesuits in England. \ Alien William.

Rev. Edmund Venables, M.A., D.D. (1810-1895). /Abbey;

Canon and Precentor of Lincoln. Author of Episcopal Palaces of England. I Abbot.

Edgar Whitaker (d. 1905). i Ahmed Veflk

Formerly Times correspondent at Constantinople. I"™ 1 " 11 voua *

Fred. A. Eaton {Academy, Royal.

Secretary to the Royal Academy. • I

Frederick Cornwallis Conybeare, M.A., D.Th. (Giessen). f Ablution; Agape;

Formerly Fellow of University College, Oxford. Fellow of the British Academy, -j Anabaptists;
Author of The Ancient Armenian Texts of Aristotle; Myth, Magic and Morals; &c. L Ancestor- Worship.

Frank Finn, F.Z.S.

Late Assistant Director of the Indian Museum, Calcutta.

„ _ .. „ „. r .ffithelbald; ffithelberht;

Frederick George Meeson Beck, M.A. I ffitnelfrlth; ethelred;

Fellow and Lecturer of Clare College, Cambridge. 1 "rT „ """""""j

6 6 l .ffithelwulf ; Alamanm.

Frederick Gymer Parsons, F.R.C.S., F.Z.S., F.R.Anthrop.Inst.

Vice-President, Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Lecturer on
Anatomy at St Thomas's Hospital and the London School of Medicine for Women. -
Formerly Hunteriari Professor at the Royal College of Surgeons.

Francis Henry Neville, M.A., F.R.S. J" ..

Fellow of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, and Lecturer on Physics and Chemistry. 1 Alloys (in part).

Francis Llewelyn Griffith, M.A., Ph.D., F.S.A. [ Ab ei m i,-i.

Reader in Egyptology, Oxford. Editor of the' Archaeological Survey and Archaeo- -{ * J* oimoei,
logical Reports of the Egypt Exploration Fund. (. Akhmim; Amasis; Ammon.

Abyssinia: Geography;

M. B

Ne.

LI.

. R.*

Gr.

' Acclimatization.

Alimentary Canal;
Anatomy.

F. R. C. Frank R. Cana.

Author of South Africa from the Great Trek to the Union.

Africa: Geography, History (in
part); Albert Edward Nyanza
(in part) ; Albert Nyanza (in
part); Alexandria (in part);
Algeria: Geography.

Francis Storr. J Acadpmips

Editor of the Journal of Education (London). Officier d'Academie (Paris).

Sir Frank Thomas Marzials. r

Accountant-General of the Army, 1898-1904. Editor of " Great Writers " Series, "j About.

Frederick William Rudler, I.S.O., F.G.S. r Agate; Alabaster;

Curator and Librarian of the Museum of Practical Geology, London, 1879-1902. J Alexandrite;
President of the Geologists' Association, 1887-1889. I Amber* Amethvst

Count Albert Edward Wilfred Gleichen, K.C.V.O., C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O. f .. . . TT .

A.D.M.O., War Office; Colonel, Grenadier Guards. Mission to Abyssinia, 1897. \ Abyssinia: History.

George A. Boulenger, D.Sc, F.R.S. r

In charge of the Collections of Reptiles and Fishes, Department of Zoology, British J Alytes.
Museum. Vice-President of the Zoological Society of London. 1

George Abraham Grierson, CLE., Ph.D., D.Litt. f

Member of the Indian Civil Service, 1873-1903. In charge of Linguistic Survey of < Ahom.
India, 1898-1902. Gold Medallist, Asiatic Society, 1909. (_

Rev. George Bryce, D.D., LL.D. ["

Head of Faculty of Science, and Lecturer in Biology and Geology in Manitoba < Alberta.
University, 1891-1904. Vice-President of Royal Society, Canada, 1908. [

George Ballard Mathews, M.A., F.R.S. [

Formerly Professor of Mathematics, University College of N. Wales. Sometime \ Algebra: Special.
Fellow of St John's College, Cambridge. |_

George Croom Robertson. fAbelard (in part).

See the biographical article : Robertson, G. C. \

Colonel George Earl Church. f Amazon.

See the biographical article : Church, G. E. \

George Edward Woodberry, Litt.D., LL.D. C

Professor of Comparative Literature at Columbia University, 1891-1904. Author of -I American Literature.
Edgar Allan Poe; Makers of Literature; America in Literature; &c. L

G. F. Barwick. I" Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg;

Assistant-Keeper of Printed Books and Superintendent of Reading-room, British -j Alice Grand-Duchess Of Hesse

George Lunge, Ph.D. (Breslau), Hon. Dr.Ing. (Karlsruhe). /Alkali Manufacture.

See the biographical article : Lunge, G. \

xxviii INITIALS AND HEADINGS OF ARTICLES

J.*

H.*

S.-

Pr.

■K.

of j i

G. P. M. George Percival Mudge, A.R.C.S., F.Z.S.

Lecturer on Biology, London Hospital Medical College, and London School of "j Albino.
Medicine for Women.

G. W. B. George Willis Botsford, A.M., Ph.D. J

Professor of History of Greece and Rome in Columbia University, New York. 1 Ampmctyony
Author of The Roman Assemblies; &c. <-

G. W. T. Rev. Griffithes Wheeler Thatcher, M.A., B.D.

Warden of Camden College, Sydney, N.S.W. Formerly Tutor in Hebrew and Old -
Testament History at Mansfield College, Oxford.

Horace Bolingbroke Woodward, F.R.S., F.G.S.

Formerly Assistant Director of the Geological Survey of England and Wales.
President Geologists' Association, 1893-1894. WoIIaston Medallist, 1908.

' Abu-l-'ala; Abu-l-'Atahiya;

Abuifaraj; Abulfeda;

Abu-i-Qasim; Abu Nuwas;

Abu Tammam; Abu Ubaida;

Akhtal; Alqama Ibn 'Abada;
: Amru'-uI-Qais.

Agassiz, J. L. R.

Hugh Cihsholm, M.A _...„„ n .. ~... , t . ...... , f Acton, Lord; Agnosticism;

Formerly Scholar of Corpus Chnsti College, Oxford. Editor of the nth edition of 1 aii™* !>,,•_„,. r™™..*
the Encyclopaedia Britannica; co-editor of the 10th edition. I mDen > "ince l/Onsori.

Herbert Challice Crouch, M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P. f

Anaesthetist and Teacher of Anaesthetics at St Thomas's, Samaritan and French "j Anaesthesia.
Hospitals, London. I

Hugh Munro Ross. f

Formerly Exhibitioner of Lincoln College, Oxford. Editor of the Times Engineering "j Alchemy.
Supplement. Author of British Railways. I

Herbert M. Vaughan, F.S.A. /*«.„« * »

Keble College, Oxford. Author of The Last of the Royal Stuarts; &c. \ AlDany, Countess Of.

Henry Phelps Johnston. f American War of Independ-

Author of Royalist History of the Revolution; The Yorktown Campaign; &c. \ ence: Land Operations.

H. R. Haxton. -I Advertisement.

Sir Henry Seton-Karr, C.M.G. f • ___„•«„. c n a

Member for St. Helen's, 1885-1906. Author of The Call to Arms. \ Ammunition: Small Arms.

H. S. J. Henry Stuart Jones, M.A. • r

Formerly Fellow of Trinity College, Oxford. Director of the British School at ■< Amphitheatre.
Rome, 1903-1905. Author of The Roman Empire. |_

H. V. K. Captain Howard V. Knox, M.A. f . , _, , „

Exeter College, Oxford. \ A, P s: Flora and Fauna -

H. W. C. D. Henry William Carless Davis, M.A. f -,,„„,,. ,..,„. *_w™

Fellow and Tutor of Balliol College, Oxford. Fellow of All Souls', Oxford, 1895-1902. \ Jbaea > Alreaus, Ambrose.

H. W. H. Hope W. Hogg, M.A. r

Professor of Semitic Languages and Literatures in the University of Manchester, i Anah.

H. W. S. H. Wickham Steed. r. . _,.. , . _

Correspondent of The Times at Rome (1897-1902) and Vienna. \ Am edeo, FerdmandO, of Savoy.

H. Y. Sir Henry Yule, K.C.S.I. r ., . , .

See the biographical article: Yule, Sir H. \ Afghanistan: History.

J. A. Ba. J. Arthur Barrett, LL.B. J Admiralty Jurisdiction:

New York Bar, 1880. U.S. Supreme Court Bar, 1 901. \ United States.

J. A. E. James Alfred Ewing, C.B., LL.D., F.R.S., M.Inst.CE. r

Director of (British) Naval Education, 1903. Hon. Fellow of King's College, J .. _ .
Cambridge. Professor of Mechanism and Applied Mechanics in the University | Air-Engine,
of Cambridge, 1890-1903. [

J. A. F. John Ambrose Fleming, M.A., D.Sc., F.R.S. r

Pender Professor of Electrical Engineering in the University of London. Fellow of a_„.„_ _,.* -
University College/London. Formerly Fellow of St John's College, Cambridge, and "j Am P er e m eier.
University Lecturer on Applied Mechanics. Author of Magnets and Electric Currents. [
John Allen Howe, B.Sc. J"

Curator and Librarian at the Museum of Practical Geology, London. 1 AlDlan.

John Bagnell Bury, Litt.D., LL.D. f A i ftTjll< . T *. TTT

See the biographical article: Bury, J. B. \ AK3aus l \ w ul -

James David Bourchier, M.A., F.R.G.S. f Albania*

Correspondent of The Times in South-Eastern Europe. Officer of the Order of -i . , J . ». .

St Alexander of Bulgaria. \ Alexander of Bulgaria.

John Dyneley Prince, Ph.D.

Professor of Semitic Languages at Columbia University, N.Y. Took part in the -I Akkad
Expedition to Southern Babylonia, 1888-89. L

James Fitzmaurice-Kelly, Litt.D., F.R.Hist.S.

Fellow of the British Academy. Gilmour Professor of Spanish Language and
Literature in the University of Liverpool. Norman MacColl Lecturer in the
University of Cambridge. Knight Commander of the Order of Alphonso XII.
Author of A History of Spanish Literature.

Acosta, J. de;
Alarcon, J. R. de;
Alarcon, P. A. de;
.Aleman; Amadis de Gaula.

J. F. R. James Ford Rhodes, LL.D. [ , , _ _

See the biographical article: Rhodes, J. Ford. \ ADams > ^ *•

J. G. C. A. John George Clark Anderson, M.A.

Student, Censor and Tutor of Christ Church, Oxford. Craven Fellow, 1896. "j Ancyra.

Formerly Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford. I

Sc.

INITIALS AND HEADINGS OF ARTICLES xxix

John G. Griffiths. J Accountants

Fellow and late President, Institute of Chartered Accountants. I

Sir James George Scott, K.C I.E. \ Akyab.

Superintendent and Political Officer, Southern Shan States. Author of Burma; &c. I

John Henry Poynting, M.A., D.Sc, F.R.S. j .

Mason Professor of Physics and Dean of the Faculty of Science, Birmingham j Acoustics.
University. Sometime Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. L

John Horace Round, M.A., LL.D. (Edin.). S Ahpvan „ p . Aid<!

Author of Feudal England ; Peerage and Pedigree ; &c. I ADeyance, aius.

Professor of History at the Lycee of Lyons, France. \ Amboise, G. d\

Sir Joseph Larmor, M.A., D.Sc, LL.D., D.C.L., F.R.A.S. f

Fellow of St John's College, Cambridge. Lucasian Professor of Mathematics in J Aether
Cambridge University. Secretary of the Royal Society. Author of Aether and
Matter; &c. l

J. L. M. John Linton Myres, M.A., F.S.A., F.R.G.S. f

Wykeham Professor of Ancient History in the University of Oxford. Formerly J AmathUS.
Gladstone Professor of Greek and Lecturer in Ancient Geography, University of
Liverpool. Lecturer in Classical Archaeology in University of Oxford. <-

J. M. M. John Malcolm Mitchell. J

Formerly Scholar of Queen's College, Oxford. Lecturer in Classics, East London i Anaxagoras Kin part).
College (University of London). Joint-editor of Grote's History of Greece. I

J. P.-B. James George Joseph Penderel-Brodhurst J Adam, Robert.

Editor of the Guardian (London). I

J. P. Pe. John Punnett Peters, Ph.D., D.D. f

Canon Residentiary, Cathedral of New York. Formerly Professor of Hebrew in J Anbar.
the University of Pennsylvania. In charge of the University Expedition to Baby- |
Ionia, 1 888-1 895. Author of Nippur, or Explorations and A dventures on the Euphrates. I

J. R. C. Joseph Rogerson Cotter, M.A. f

Assistant to the Professor of Physics, Trinity College, Dublin. Editor of 2nd i Absorption of Light.
edition of Preston's Theory of Heal. I

J. R. D. Colonel John Richard Dodd, M.D., F.R.C.S., R.A.M.C.

Administrative Medical Officer of Cork Military District.

J. S. James Sully, LL.D.

See the biographical article: Sully, J.

J. S. P. John Smith Flett, D.Sc, F.G.S. r AB .„, ompratp .

Petrographer to the Geological Survey. Formerly Lecturer on Petrology in Edin- J " 66 , T* " » . . ..
burgh University.- 1 Amphibolite; Andesite.

J. S. K. John Scott Keltie, LL.D., F.S.S., F.S.A. (Scot.). f

Sec. Royal Geog. Soc. Hon. Memb. Geographical Societies of Paris, Berlin, Rome, -i Abbadie; Africa: History.
&c. Editor of Statesman's Year-book. Editor of the Geographical Journal. (_

J. T. Be. John T. Bealby. f

Joint-author of Stanford's Europe. Formerly editor of the Scottish Geographical -j Altai.
Magazine. Translator of Sven Hedin's Through Asia, Central Asia and Tibet; &c. I

J. T. C. Joseph Thomas Cunningham, M.A., F.Z.S. I"

Lecturer on Zoology at South- Western Polytechnic, London. Formerly Fellow of J Anchow
University College, Oxford. Assistant Professor of Natural History in the Uni- | '*

versity of Edinburgh. Naturalist to the Marine Biological Association. I

J. T. S.* James Thomson Shotwell, Ph.D. / Abelard (in pari).

Professor of History in Columbia University, New York City. I

J.V. B. J. Vernon Bartlet, M.A., D.D c tj „ M nr J j Acts of the Apostles.

Professor of Church History, Mansfield College, Oxford. L

Jno. W. John Westlake, K.C, LL.D., D.C.L.

Professor of International Law, Cambridge, 1888-1908. One of the Members for

United Kingdom of International Court of Arbitration under the Hague Convention, J Alien;

1 900-1 906. Author of A Treatise on Private International Law, or the Conflict Allegiance.

of Laws: Chapters on the Principles of International Law, part i. " Peace," part ii.

''War."

J. W. D. Captain J. Whitly Dixon, R.N. f, .

Nautical Assessor to the Court of Appeal. \ Alienor.

K. S. Kathleen Schlesinger. f Accordion; Aeolian Harp;

Author of The Instruments of the Orchestra; &c. \ Alpenhom.

L. D.* Louis Marie Olivier Duchesne. r Adrian I., II., III.;

See the biographical article: Duchesne, L. M. O. \ Alexander I., II. (popes).

Albite; Alunite;

{■
{■

Ambulance.
Aesthetics.

L. J. S. , Leonard James Spencer.

Department of Mineralogy, British Museum. Formerly Scholar of Sidney Sussex.
College, Cambridge, and Harkness Scholar. Editor of the Mineralogical Magazine,

L. V.* Luigi Villari.

Amblygonite; Ampibole;
Analcite; Anatase;
. Andalusite.

;i villari. [Accoramboni-

Italian Foreign Office (Emigration Dept.). Formerly Newspaper Correspondent in I .. . „,' , .

east of Europe; Italian Vice-Consul in New Orleans, 1906, Philadelphia, 1907, and 1 Alexander VI. (pope;;
Boston, U.S.A., 1907-1910. Author of Italian Life in Town and Country; &c. [ Amari.

XXX

INITIALS AND HEADINGS OF ARTICLES

M.Br.
M. G.

ML 6. D.

M. Ha.
M. H. C.

Margaret Bryant.

Ja.

M.Bh.

N. T.

0. B. C

P.*

0. E.

0. H.*
0. T. M.

P. A.

P. A. A.
P. A. G.

P. A. K.
P. A. M.

P. C. M.

P. C. Y.
P. Gi.

/Alexander the Great:

I Legends.
Moses Gaster, Ph.D. (Leipzig).

Chief Rabbi of the Sephardic communities of England. Vice-President, Zionist
Congress, 1898, 1899, 1900. llchester Lecturer at Oxford on Slavonic and By-
zantine Literature, 1886 and 1891. President, Folklore Society of England."
Vice-President, Anglo-Jewish Association. Author of History of Rumanian Popular
Literature; The Hebrew Version of the Secretum Secretorum of Aristotle.

Rt. Hon. Sir Mountstuart Elphinstone Grant-Duff, G.C.S.I., F.R.S. (1829-
1906). M.P. for the Elgin Burghs, 1857-1881. Under-Secretary of State for India,
1868-1874. Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies, 1880-1881. Governor of,
Madras, 1881-1886. President of the Royal Geographical Society, 1889-1893.
President of the Royal Historical Society, 1892-1899. Author of Studies in European
Politics; Notes from a Diary; &c.

Marcus Hartog, M.A., D.Sc. (Lond.), F.L.S.

Professor of Zoology in University College, Cork. Formerly Professor of Natural ■
History in Queen's College, Cork, and Fellow of the Royal University of Ireland.

Montague Hughes Crackanthorpe, M.A., K.C., D.C.L.

President of the Eugenics Education Society. Formerly Member of the General
Council of the Bar and Council of Legal Education. Late Chairman, Incorporated ■
Council of Law Reporting. Chairman of Quarter Sessions, Westmorland.
Honorary Fellow, St John's College, Oxford.

Alecsandri.

Ampthill, Baron.

Amoeba.

'Alabama" Arbitration.

Adad.

Morris Jastrow, Jr., Ph.D.

Professor of Semitic Languages, University of Pennsylvania, U.S.A. Author of-
Religion of the Babylonians and Assyrians; &c. (.

Sir Mancherjee Merwanjee Bhownagree, K.C.I.E. f"

Fellow of Bombay University. M.P. (C.) Bethnal Green, North-East, 1895-1906.-^ "S a Khan.
Author of Small History of the East India Company. |_

Marcus Niebuhr Tod, M.A. . r

Fellow and Lecturer of Oriel College, Oxford. University Lecturer in Greek) Agesilaus;
Epigraphy. Corresponding Member of the German Imperial Archaeological] Agis.
Institute. Joint-author of Catalogue of the Sparta Museum. L

Max Otto Bismarck Caspari, M.A.

Reader in Ancient History at London University. Lecturer in Greek at"
Birmingham University, 1905-1908.

Leon Jacques Maxime Prinet.

Formerly Archivist to the French National Archives. Auxiliary of the Institute of -
France (Academy of Moral and Political Sciences).

Joseph Marie Noel Valois.

Member of Acad6mie des Inscriptions et Belles-lettres, Paris. Honorary Archivist
at the Archives Nationales. Formerly President of the Socifite' de l'Histoire de"
France, and of the Socifite' de I'Ecole de Chartes.

Acarnania; Achaean League;
Actium; Aetolia; Ambracia.

Albret ;

Aleneon, Counts of.

Ailly;

Alexander V. (pope).

Editor of and ed. of j Aberration.

{

Adulteration.

S. Otto Eppenstein, Ph.D.

Member of Scientific Staff at Zeiss's optical works, Jena.
Grundzdge der Theorie der optischen lnstrumente nach Abbe.

Otto Hehner, Ph.D.

Formerly President of the Society of Analytical Chemists.

Otis Tufton Mason (d. 1908) ( America: Ethnology and

Curator, Department of Anthropology, National Museum, Washington, 1884-1908. ■} A,rhn™Un*,
Authorof Woman' sSharein Primitive Culture ; Primitive Traveland Transportation ; &c. I arcnaeowgy.

Paul Daniel Alphandery.

Professor of the History of Dogma, ficole Pratique des Hautes fitudes, Sorbonne, -

Paris. Author of Les Idees morales chez les hitirodoxes latines au debut du XIII 4 siicle.
Philip A. Ashworth, M.A., D.Juris. (

New College, Oxford. Barrister-at-Law. (

P. Anderson Graham. r

Editor of Country Life. Author of The Rural Exodus: the Problem of the Village and J Allotments,

Alain de Lille;
Albigenses.

Alsace-Lorraine.

the Town.

Prince Peter Alexeivitch Kropotkin.
See the biographical article: Kropotkin,

P. A.

Percy Alexander Macmahon, D.Sc, F.R.S., late Major R.A.

Deputy Warden of the Standards, Board of Trade. Joint General Secretary
British Association. Formerly Professor of Physics, Ordnance College. President '
of London Mathematical Society, 1894-1896.

Peter Chalmers Mitchell, F.R.S. , D.Sc, LL.D.

Secretary to the Zoological Society of London from 1903. University Demonstrator
in Comparative Anatomy and Assistant to Linacre Professor at Oxford, 1888-1891.
Lecturer on Biology at Charing Cross Hospital, 1892-1894; at London Hospital,
1894. Examiner in Biology to the Royal College of Physicians, 1892-1896, 1901-
1903. Examiner in Zoology to the University of London, 1903.

r Altai; Amur:
"[ Anarchism.

District ;

Algebraic Forms.

Abiogenesis ; Actinozoa ;
Alimentary Canal;
Amphibia (in part).

f Aberdeen, 1st Earl of;
\AHestree, R.

Philip Chesney Yorke, M.A.
Magdalen College, Oxford.

Peter Giles, M.A., LL.D. r A . Accent .

Fellow and Classical Lecturer of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and University 4 «i'„i,.i.„* '
Reader in Comparative Philology. 1 Alphabet.

INITIALS AND HEADINGS OF ARTICLES

XXXI

P. La.

R. A. S. M.
R. K. D.

R. L.*
R. N. B.

R. P. S.

R. S. C.
R. Tr.
R. V. H.
R. W. P.
S. A. C.

S. E. B.
T. As.

T. A. I.
T. A. J.

T. H.
T. H. H.
H. H.*

T. K. C.
T. W. R. D.

V. B. L.
W.

Alps: Geology.

Acre; AI; Altar.

Philip Lake, M.A., F.G.S.

Lecturer on Physical and Regional Geography in Cambridge University. Formerly .
of the Geological Survey of India. Author of Monograph of British Cambrian
Trilobites. Translator and editor of Kayser's Comparative Geology.

Robert Alexander Stewart Macalister, M.A., F.S.A.
Director of Excavations for the Palestine Exploration Fund.

Sir Robert Kennaway Douglas. f

Formerly Keeper of Oriental Printed Books and MSS. at the British Museum ; i Aleock Sir R.
Professor of Chinese, King's College, London. Author of The Language and '

Literature of China; &c. *■

Richard Lydekker, F.R.S.,

Author of Catalogues of Fossil Mammals, Reptiles and Birds in British Museum

The Deer of all Lands; The Game Animals of Africa; &c.

J Amblypoda;
[ Ancylopoda.

Robert Nisbet Bain (d. 1900).

Assistant Librarian, British Museum, 1883-1909. Author of Scandinavia: the Political
History of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, 1513-1900 ; The First Romanovs, 1613 to '
1725 ; Slavonic Europe: the Political History of Poland and Russia from 1469 to 1796, &c

Aagesen; Absalon;
Adolphus Frederick;
Alexander Nevsky;
Alexius Mikhailovich;
Alexius Petrovich;
Alin; Andrassy, Count;
Andrew II. of Hungary.

Aisle.

R. Phene Spiers, F.S.A., F.R.I.B.A.

Past President of Architectural Association. Associate and Fellow of King's
College, London. Editor of Fergusson's History of Architecture. Author of
Architecture: East and West; &c.

Robert Seymour Conway, M.A., Litt.D.

Professor of Latin, Victoria University of Manchester; formerly Professor of Lati
in University College, Cardiff.

Roland Truslove, M.A.

Dean, Fellow and Lecturer, Worcester College, Oxford. Formerly Scholar of] Agriculture (in part)
Christ Church, Oxford.

Admiral Sir Richard Vesey Hamilton, G.C.B.

Senior Naval Lord of Admiralty, 1889-1891. President, Royal Naval College,
Greenwich, 1891-1894.

Reginald W. Phillips, D.Sc, F.L.S.

Professor of Botany in the University College of North Wales
logy of the Algae, &c.

Aequi.

Admiralty Administration

(British).

Author of Morpho- i Algae

Stanley Arthur Cook, M.A.

Lecturer in Hebrew and Syriac, and formerly Fellow, Gonville and Caius College,
Cambridge. Examiner in Hebrew and Aramaic, London University, 1904-1908.
Council of Royal Asiatic Society, 1904-1905. Editor for Palestine Exploration Fund.
Author of Critical Notes on Old Testament History; Religion of Ancient Palestine; &c.

Simeon Eben Baldwin, M.A., LL.D.

Professor of Constitutional and Private International Law in the University of Yale.
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Errors, Connecticut. President of the Inter-
national Law Association. President of the American Historical Association.

Thomas Ashby, M.A., D.Litt. (Oxon.), F.S.A.

Formerly Scholar of Christ Church, Oxford. Director of British School of Archaeo-
logy at Rome.

Aaron; Abimelech;
Abraham; Ahab;
Amalekites;
Ammonites.

J American Law.

Thomas Allan Ingram, M.A., LL.D.
Trinity College, Dublin.

T. Athol Joyce, M.A.

Assistant in Department of Ethnography, British Museum,
logical Society.

Thomas Hodgkin, LL.D., D.Litt.

See the biographical article : Hodgkin, T.

Thomas Henry Huxley, F.R.S.

See the biographical article : Huxley, Thomas H.

Adria; Aemilia Via;
Agrlgentum; Alba Fucens;
Alba Longa; Aletrium;
.Anagnia; Ancona.

■■: Affiliation.

Hon. Sec. Anthropo

J Ababda;

1 Africa: Ethnology.

1 Alaric.

-j Amphibia (in part).

Colonel Sir Thomas Hungerford Holdich, K.C.M.G., K.C.I.E., Hon. D.Sc. r A fa h-,r,M an - r^n^^u,,.
Superintendent, Frontier Surveys, India, 1892-1898. Author of The Indian \ *° ° * , " oeo S ra W>

Borderland; The Countries of the King's Award; India; Tibet; &c.

Rev. Thomas Kelly Cheyne, D.Litt., D.D.
See the biographical article: Cheyne, T. K.

[Afghan Turkestan.

■I Adam; Amos.

T. W. Rhys Davids, LL.D., Ph.D.

Professor of Comparative Religion in Manchester University. President of the Pali
Text Society. Fellow of the British Academy. Secretary and Librarian of Royal "
Asiatic Society, 1885-1902. Author of Buddhism; &c

Vivian Byam Lewes, F.I.C., F.C.S.

Professor of Chemistry, Royal Naval College,
to the Corporation of the City of London.

Sir Joseph Walton (d. 10 10).

Formerly Judge of the King's Bench Div.
Bar, 1899.

Abhidhamma;

Ajanta;

Ananda.

Chief Superintendent Gas Examiner -i Acetylene.

Chairman of the General Council of the -j Affreightment

XXX11
W. A. B. C.

W A. P.

W. Ba.
W. C. R.-A.
W. E. G.

W. Ft.
W. F. Sh.

W. G.*

W. G. F. P.

W. Ht.
W. M. D.

W. M. F. P.
W. M. R.
W. 0. B.

W. Rl.

INITIALS AND HEADINGS OF ARTICLES

F.*

R.*

Rev. William Augustus Brevoort Coolidge, M.A., F.R.G.S., D.Ph. (Bern).
Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford. Professor of English History, St David's
College, Lampeter, 1 880-1881. Author of Guide du Haul Dauphini; The Range of
the Todi; Guide to Grindelwald; Guide to Switzerland; The Alps in Nature and in
History; &c. Editor of the Alpine Journal, 1880-1889; &c.

Walter Alison Phillips, M.A.

Formerly Exhibitioner of Merton College and Senior Scholar of St John's College,
Oxford. Author of Modern Europe ; &c.

(Aar; Aarau; Aargau; Adda;
Adlge; Albula Pass; Alp;
Alpes Mari times; Alps;
Altdorf.

Abbot; Aix-la-Chapelle:

Congresses;
Alexander I. of Russia;
Ali, of Iannlna; Alliance;
Ambassador.

Formerly Fellow of Trinity College, < Algebra.

[Africa: Geology;
1 Algeria: Geology.

William Bacher, Ph.D.

Professor at the Rabbinical Seminary, Buda-Pest.

Sir William Chandler Roberts-Austen, K.C.B., D.C.L., F.R.S.
See the biographical article : Roberts-Austen, Sir W. C

Sir William Edmund Garstin, G.C.M.G.

Governing Director, Suez Canal Co. Formerly Inspector-General of Irrigation,
Egypt. Under-Secretary of State for Public Works. Adviser to the Ministry of
Public Works in Egypt, 1904-1908.

William Fream, LL.D., F.G.S., F.L.S., F.S.S. (d. 1907).
Author of Handbook of Agriculture.

William Fleetwood Sheppard, M.A.

Senior Examiner in the Board of Education.
Cambridge. Senior Wrangler, 1884.

Walcot Gibson, D.Sc, F.G.S.

H.M. Geological Survey. Author of The Gold-Bearing Rocks of the S. Transvaal;
Mineral Wealth of Africa ; The Geology of Coal and Coalmining ; &c.

Sir Walter George Frank Phillimore, Bart., D.C.L., LL.D.

Judge of the King's Bench Div. President of International Law Association, 1905.
Author of Book of Church Law. Edited 2nd ed. of Phillimore 's Ecclesiastical Law,
and 3rd ed. of vol. iv. of Phillimore 's International Law.

Walter Hibbert, A.M.I.C.E., F.I.C., F.C.S.

Lecturer on Physics and Electro-Technology, Polytechnic, Regent Street, London.

William Morris Davis, D.Sc, Ph.D.

Professor of Geology in Harvard University. Formerly Professor of Physical

Geography. Author of Physical Geography ; &c.
William M. Flinders Petrie, D.C.L., Litt.D., LL.D., Ph.D.

See the biographical article: Petrie, W. M. F.

William Michael Rossetti.

See the biographical article: Rossetti, Dante Gabriel.

Ven. Winfrid Oldfield Burrows, M.A.

Archdeacon of Birmingham. Formerly Tutor of Christ Church, Oxford, 1884-1891,
and Principal of Leeds Clergy School, 1891-1900.

. William Ridgeway, M.A., D.Sc, Litt.D.

Disney Professor of Archaeology, Cambridge University, and Brereton Reader in
Classics. Fellow of Caius College, Cambridge. Fellow of the British Academy.
President of Royal Anthropological Institute, 1908. Author of The Early Age
of Greece, &c.

William Spalding.

See the biographical article: Spalding, W.

Rear-Admiral W. T. Sampson, LL.D.

See the biographical article: Sampson, W. T.

William Wallace.

See the biographical article: Wallace, William (1844-1897).

William Warde Fowler, M.A.

Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford. Sub-Rector, 1881-1904. Gifford Lecturer,
Edinburgh University, 1908. Author of The City-State of the Greeks and Romans.

William Walker Rockwell, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Church History, Union Theological Seminary, New York.

i Abenezra.

-< Alloys {in pari).

(Albert Edward Nyanza;
Albert Nyanza {in pari).

{

Agriculture (in part).

J Admiralty, High Court of;
1 Admiralty Jurisdiction.

Accumulator.

{

-j America: Physical Geography.

S Abydos.

-J Andrea del Sarto.

J Absolution.

J Achaeans.

J" Addison (in part).

f Admiralty Administration
\ (United Stales).

-I Anaxagoras (in part).

{

Ambarvalia.

r Adrian IV., V., VI.;
J Alexander III., IV., VII., VIII.;
LAncyra, Synod of.

PRINCIPAL UNSIGNED ARTICLES

Abbreviation.

Aeronautics.

Albumin.

Alimony.

Ambo.

Acid.

Aero therapeutics.

Alcohol.

Allsmaceae.

Ammonia.

Aconite.

Agapemonites.

Alcohols.

Almanac.

Amsterdam.

Addison's Disease.

Age.

Aldehydes.

Aloe.

Ana.

Adoption.

Alabama.

Alexandrian School.

Alum.

Andaman Islands

Advocate.

Alaska.

Alhambra,

Amazons.

Andes.

Advowson.

Alb.

ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA

ELEVENTH EDITION

VOLUME I

A This letter of ours corresponds to the first symbol in the
Phoenician alphabet and in almost all its descendants.
In Phoenician, a, like, the symbols for e and for o, did
not represent a vowel, but a breathing ; the vowels
originally were not represented by any symbol. When the
alphabet was adopted by the Greeks it was not very well fitted
to represent the sounds of their language. The breathings
which were not required in Greek were accordingly employed
to represent some of the vowel sounds, other vowels, like i and u,
being represented by an adaptation of the symbols for the
semi-vowels y and w. The Phoenician name, which must have
corresponded closely to the Hebrew Aleph, was taken over by
the Greeks in the form Alpha (a\<j>a). The earliest authority
for this, as for the names of the other Greek letters, is the
grammatical drama (ypa.nna.Tudi Qeupia) of Callias, an earlier
contemporary of Euripides, from whose works four trimeters,
containing the names of all the Greek letters, are preserved in
Athenaeus x. 453 d.

The form of the letter has varied considerably. In the earliest
of the Phoenician, Aramaic and Greek inscriptions (the oldest
Phoenician dating about 1000 B.C., the oldest Aramaic from the
8th, and the oldest Greek from the 8th or 7th century B.C.) A rests
upon its side thus — ^f- \ <£• In the Greek alphabet of later times
it generally resembles the modern capital letter, but many local
varieties can be distinguished by the shortening of one leg, or by
the angle at which the cross line is set — ^ /\ fa f\ \ft, &c. From
the Greeks of the west the alphabet was borrowed by the Romans
and from them has passed to the other nations of western
Europe. In the earliest Latin inscriptions, such as the inscription
found in the excavation of the Roman Forum in 1899, or that
on a golden fibula found at Praeneste in 1886 (see Alphabet),
the letters are still identical in form with those of the western
Greeks. Latin develops early various forms, which are compara-
tively rare in Greek, as fl\, or unknown, as /\. Except possibly
Faliscan, the other dialects of Italy did not borrow their alphabet
directly from the western Greeks as the Romans did, but received
it at second hand through the Etruscans. In Oscan, where the
writing of early inscriptions is no less careful than in Latin, the
A takes the form fQ, to which the nearest parallels are found
in north Greece (Boeotia, Locris and Thessaly, and there only
sporadically).

i- 1 ','] \ !

In Greek the symbol was used for both the long and the
short sound, as in English father (a) and German Ratte (#);
English, except in dialects, has no sound corresponding precisely
to the Greek short a, which, so far as can be ascertained, was
a mid-back-wide sound, according to the terminology of H.
Sweet (Primer of Phonetics, p. 107). Throughout the history
of Greek the short sound remained practically unchanged. On
the other hand, the long sound of a in the Attic and Ionic dialects
passed into an open e-sound, which in the Ionic alphabet was
represented by the same symbol as the original e-sound (see
Alphabet : Greek). The vowel sounds vary from language to
language, and the a symbol has, in consequence, to represent
in many cases sounds which are not identical with the Greek a
whether long or short, and also to represent several different
vowel sounds in the same language. Thus the New English
Dictionary distinguishes about twelve separate vowel sounds,
which are represented by a in English. In general it may be
said that the chief changes which affect the a-sound in different
languages arise from (1) rounding, (2) fronting, i.e. changing
from a sound produced far back in the mouth to a sound produced
farther forward. The rounding is often produced by combination
with rounded consonants (as in English was, wall, &c), the
rounding of the preceding consonant being continued into the
formation of the vowel sound. Rounding has also been produced
by a following /-sound, as in the English fall, small, bald, &c.
(see Sweet's History of English Sounds, 2nd ed., §§ 906, 784).
The effect of fronting is seen in the Ionic and Attic dialects of
Greek, where the original name of the Medes, Madoi, with a
in the first syllable (which survives in Cyprian Greek as MaSoi),
is changed into Medoi (Mt}5oi), with an open e-sound instead
of the earlier a. In the later history of Greek this sound
is steadily narrowed till it becomes identical with i (as in
English seed). The first part of the process has been almost
repeated by literary English, a (ah) passing into e (eh), though
in present-day pronunciation the sound has developed further
into a diphthongal ei except before r, as in hare (Sweet,
op. cit. § 783).

In English a represents unaccented forms of several words,
e.g. an (one), of, have, he, and of various prefixes the history of
which is given in detail in the New English Dictionary (Oxford,
1888), vol, i,p, 4 . . (P. Gi.)

AA— AAR

As a symbol the letter is used in various connexions and for
various technical purposes, e.g. for a note in music, for the first
of the seven dominical letters (this use is derived from its being
the first of the litter ae nundinales at Rome), and generally as
a sign of priority.

In Logic, the letter A is used as a symbol for the universal
affirmative proposition in the general form " all x is y." The
letters I, E and O are used respectively for the particular affirm-
ative " some x is y," the universal negative " no x is y," and
the particular negative " some x is not y." The use of these
letters is generally derived from the vowels of the two Latin
verbs Afllrmo (or AIo), "I assert," and nEgO, "I deny."
The use of the symbols dates from the 13th century, though
some authorities trace their origin to the Greek logicians. A is
also used largely in abbreviations (q.v.).

In Shipping, Ai is a symbol used to denote quality of con-
struction and material. In the various shipping registers ships
are classed and given a rating after an official examination, and
assigned a classification mark, which appears in addition to
other particulars in those registers after the" name of the ship.
See Shipbuilding. It is popularly used to indicate the highest
degree of excellence.

AA, the name of a large number of small European rivers. The
word is derived from the Old German aha, cognate to the Latin
aqua, water (cf. Ger. -ach; Scand. a, aa, pronounced 0). The
following are the more important streams of this name: —
Two rivers in the west of Russia, both falling into the Gulf of
Riga, near Riga, which is situated between them; a river in the
north of France, falling into the sea helow Gravelines, and navi-
gable as far as St Omer; and a river of Switzerland, in the can-
tons of Lucerne and Aargau, which carries the waters of Lakes
Baldegger and Hallwiler into the Aar. In Germany there are the
Westphalian Aa, rising in the Teutoburger Wald, and joining the
Werre at Herford, the Munster Aa, a tributary of the Ems, and
others.

AAGESEN, ANDREW (1826-1879), Danish jurist, was educated
for the law at Kristianshavn and Copenhagen, and interrupted
his studies in 1848 to take part in the first Schleswig war, in
which he served as the leader of a reserve battalion. In 1855 he
became professor of jurisprudence at the university of Copen-
hagen. In 1870 he was appointed a member of the commission for
drawing up a maritime and commercial code, and the navigation
law of 1882 is mainly his work. In 1879 he was elected a member
of the Landsthing; but it is as a teacher at the university that he
won his reputation. Among his numerous juridical works may be
mentioned: Bidrag til Laeren om Ovcrdragelse af Ejendomsret,
Bemaerkinger om Rettigheder over Ting (Copenhagen, 1866, 1871-
1872); Fortegnelse over Retssamlinger, Retslitteratur i Danmark,
Norge, Sverige (Copenhagen, 1876). Aagesen was Hall's suc-
cessor as lecturer on Roman law at the university, and in this
department his researches were epoch-making. All his pupils
were profoundly impressed by his exhaustive examination of
the sources, his energetic demonstration of his subject and his
stringent search after truth. His noble, imposing, and yet most
amiable personality won for him, moreover, universal affection
and respect.

See C. F. Bricka, Dansk.Biog. Lex. vol. i. (Copenhagen, 1887);
Samlade Skrifter, edited by F. C. Bornemann (Copenhagen,
1863). (R. N. B.)

AAL, also known as A'l, Ach, or Aich, the Hindustani names
for the Morinda tinctoria and Morinda citrifolia, plants exten-
sively cultivated in India on account of the reddish dye-stuff
which their roots contain. The name is also applied to the dye,
but the common trade name is Suranji. Its properties are due to
the presence of a glucoside known as Morindin, which is com-
pounded from glucose and probably a trioxy-methyl-anthra-
quinone.

AALBORG, a city and seaport of Denmark, the seat of a bishop,
and chief town of the amt (county) of its name, on the south bank
of the Limfjord, which connects the North Sea and the Cattegat.
Pop. (1901) 3i,4S7- The situation is typical of the north of
Jutland. To the west the Limfjord broadens ijjto^ an irregular

lake, with low, marshy shores and many islands. North-west is
the Store Vildmose, a swamp where the mirage is seen in summer.
South-east lies the similar Lille Vildmose. A railway connects
Aalborg with Hjorring, Frederikshavn and Skagen to the north,
and with Aarhus and the lines from Germany to the south. The
harbour is good and safe, though difficult of access. Aalborg is a
growing industrial and commercial centre, exporting grain and
fish. An old castle and some picturesque houses of the 17th cen-
tury remain. The Budolphi church dates mostly from the mid-
dle of the 1 8th century, while the Frue church was partially burnt
in 1894, but the foundation of both is of the 14th century or
earlier. There are also an ancient hospital and a museum of art
and antiquities. On the north side of the fjord is Norre Sundby,
connected with Aalhorg by a pontoon and also by an iron rail-
way bridge, one of the finest engineering works in the kingdom.
Aalborg received town-privileges in 1342, and the bishopric dates
from 1554.

AALEN, a town of Germany, in the kingdom of Wurttemberg,
pleasantly situated on the Kocher, at the foot of the Swabian
Alps, about 50 m. E. of Stuttgart, and with direct railway com-
munication with Ulm and Cannstatt. Pop. 10,000. Woollen
and linen goods are manufactured, and there are ribbon looms and
tanneries in the town, and large iron works in the neighbourhood.
There are several schools and churches, and a statue of the poet
Christian Schubart. Aalen was a free imperial city from 1360 to
1802, when it was annexed to Wurttemberg.

AALESUND, a seaport of Norway, in Romsdal amt (county),
145 m. N. by E. from Bergen. Pop. (1900) 11,672. It occupies
two of the outer islands of the west coast, Aspo and Norvo, which
enclose the picturesque harbour. Founded in 1824, it is the
principal shipping-place of Sondmore district, and one of the chief
stations of the herring fishery. Aalcsund is adjacent to the
Jorund and Geiranger fjords, frequented by tourists. From Ojc
at the head of Jorund a driving-route strikes south to the Nord-
fjord, and from Merok on Geiranger another strikes inland to
Otta, on the railway to Lillehammer and Christiania. Aalesund
is a port of call for steamers between Bergen, Hull, Newcastle and
Hamburg, and Trondhjem. A little to the south of the town are
the ruins of the reputed castle of Rollo, the founder, in the 9th
century, of the dynasty of the dukes of Normandy. On the 23rd
of January 1904, Aalesund was the scene of one of the most
terrible of the many conflagrations to which Norwegian towns,
built largely of wood, have been subject. Practically the whole
town was destroyed, a gale aiding the flames, and the population
had to leave the place in the night at the notice of a few minutes.
Hardly any lives were lost, but the sufferings of the people were
so terrible that assistance was sent from all parts of the kingdom,
and by the German government, while the British government
also offered it.

AALI, MEHEMET, Pasha (1815-1871), Turkish statesman,
was born at Constantinople in 1815, the son of a government
official. Entering the diplomatic service of his country soon after
reaching manhood, he became successively secretary of the Em-
bassy in Vienna, minister in London, and foreign minister under
Reshid Pasha. In 1852 he was promoted to the post of grand
vizier, but after a short time retired into private life. During the
Crimean War he was recalled in order to take the portfolio of
foreign affairs for a second time under Reshid Pasha, and in this
capacity took part in 1855 in the conference of Vienna. Again
becoming in that year grand vizier, an office he filled no less than
five times, he represented Turkey at the congress of Paris in 1856.
In 1867 he was appointed regent of Turkey during the sultan's
visit to the Paris Exhibition. Aali Pasha was one of the most zeal-
ous advocates of the introduction of Western reforms under the
sultans Abdul Mejid and Abdul Aziz. A scholar and a linguist,
he was a match for the diplomats of the Christian powers, against
whom he successfully defended the interests of his country. He
died at Erenkeni in Asia Minor on the 6th of September 1871.

AAR, or Aaee, the most considerable river which both rises
and ends entirely within Switzerland. Its total length (including
all bends) from its source to its junction with the Rhine is about
1,81 m., during which distance it descends 5135 ft., while its

AARAU— AARHUS

drainage area is 6804 sq. m. It rises in the great Aar glaciers, in
the canton of Bern, and W. of the Grimsel Pass. It runs E. to the
Grimsel Hospice, and then N.W. through the Hash valley,, form-
ing on the way the magnificent waterfall of the Handegg (151 ft),
past Guttannen, and pierces the limestone barrier of the Kirchet
by a grand gorge, before reaching Meiringen, situated in a plain.
A little beyond, near Brienz, the river expands into the lake of
Brienz, where it becomes navigable. Near the west end of that
lake it receives its first important affluent, the Liitschine (left),
and then runs across the swampy plain of the Bodeli, between
Interlaken (left) and Unterseen (right), before again expanding in
order to form the Lake of Thun. Near the west end of that lake
it receives on the left the Kander,which has just before been joined
by the Simme; on flowing out of the lake it passes Thun, and
then circles the lofty bluff on which the town of Bern is built.
It soon changes its north-westerly for a due westerly direction,
but after receiving the Saane or Sarinc (left) turns N. till near
Aarberg its stream is diverted W. by the Hagneck Canal into the
Lake of Bienne, from the upper end of which it issues through the
Nidau Canal and then runs E. to Biiren. Henceforth its course is
N.E. for a long distance, past Soleure (below which the Grosse
Emme flows in on the right), Aarburg (where it is joined by the
Wigger, right), Olten, Aarau, near which is the junction with the
Suhr on the right, and Wildegg, where the Hallwiler Aa falls in
on the right. A short way beyond, below Brugg, it receives first
the Reuss (right), and very shortly afterwards the Limmat or
Linth (right). It now turns due N., and soon becomes itself an
affluent of the Rhine (left), which it surpasses in volume when
they unite at Coblenz, opposite Waldshut. (W. A. B. C.)

AARAU, the capital of the Swiss canton of Aargau. In 1900
it had 7831 inhabitants, mostly German-speaking, and mainly
Protestants. It is situated in the valley of the Aar, on the right
bank of that river, and at the southern foot of the range of the
Jura. It is about 50 m. by rail N.E. of Bern, and 31m. N.W.
of Zurich. It is a well-built modern town, with no remarkable
features about it. In the Industrial Museum there is (besides
collections of various kinds) some good painted glass of the 16th
century, taken from the neighbouring Benedictine monastery
of Muri (founded 1027, suppressed 1841 — the monks are now
quartered at Gries, near Botzen, in Tirol). The cantonal library
contains many works relating to Swiss history and many MSS.
coming from the suppressed Argovian monasteries. There are
many industries in the town, especially silk-ribbon weaving,
foundries, and^factories for the manufacture of cutlery and scien-
tific instruments. The popular novelist and historian, Heinrich
Zschokke (1771-1848), spent most of his life here, and a bronze
statue has been erected to his memory. Aarau is an important
military centre. The slopes of the Jura are covered with vine-
yards. Aarau, an ancient fortress, was taken by the Bernese in
1415, and in 1798 became for a time the capital of the Helvetic
republic. Eight miles by rail N.E. are the famous sulphur baths
of Schinznach, just above which is the ruined castle of Habsburg,
the original home of that great historical house. (W. A. B. C.)

AARD-VARK (meaning " earth-pig "), the Dutch name for the
mammals of genus Orycteropus, confined to Africa (see Eden-
tata). Several species have been named. Among them is the
typical form, O. capensis, or Cape ant-bear from South Africa,
and the northern aard-vark (0. aethiopicus) of north-eastern
Africa, extending into Egypt. In form these animals are some-
what pig-like; the body is stout, with arched back; the limbs
are short and stout, armed with strong, blunt claws; the ears
disproportionately long; and the tail very thick at the base and
tapering gradually. The greatly elongated head is set on a short
thick neck, and at the extremity of the snout is a disk in which
the nostrils open. The mouth is small and tubular, furnished with
a long extensile tongue. The measurements of a female, taken in
the flesh, were head and body 4 ft., tail 17^ in.; but a large indi-
vidual measured 6 ft. 8 in. over all. In colour the Cape aard-vark
is pale sandy or yellow, the hair being scanty and allowing tbe
skin to show; the northern aard-vark has a still thinner coat, and
is further distinguished by the shorter tail and longer head and
ears. These animals are of nocturnal and burrowing habits, and

generally to be found near ant-hills. The strong claws make a
hole in the side of the ant-hill, and the insects are collected on
the extensile tongue. Aard-varks are hunted for their skins; but
the flesh is valued for food, and often salted and smoked.

AARD-WOLF (earth-wolf), a South and East African carni-
vorous mammal (Proteles cristalus), in general appearance like a
small striped hyena, but with a more pointed muzzle, sharper
ears, and a long erectile mane down the middle line of the neck
and back. It is of nocturnal and burrowing habits, and feeds on
decomposed animal substances, larvae and termites.

AARGAU (Fr. Argovie), one of the more northerly Swiss
cantons, comprising the lower course of the river Aar (q.v.),
whence its name. Its total area is 541-9 sq. m., of which 517-9
sq. m. are classed as "productive" (forests covering 172 sq. m.
and vineyards 8-2 sq. m.). It is one of the least mountainous
Swiss cantons, forming part of a great table-land, to the north of
the Alps and the east of the Jura, above which rise low hills. The
surface of the country is beautifully diversified, undulating tracts
and well-wooded hills 'alternating with fertile valleys watered
mainly by the Aar a"nd its tributaries. It contains the famous hot
sulphur springs of Baden (q.v.) and Schinznach, while at Rhein-
felden there are very extensive saline springs. Just below Brugg
the Reuss and the Limmat join the Aar, while around Brugg are
the ruined castle of Habsburg, the old convent of Konigsfelden
(with fine painted medieval glass) and the remains of the Roman
settlement of Vindonissa [Windisch]. The total population in
1900 was 206,498, almost exclusively German-speaking, but
numbering 114,176 Protestants to 91,039 Romanists and 990
Jews. The capital of the canton is Aarau (q.v.) , while other im-
portant towns are Baden (q.v.), Zofingen (4591 inhabitants),
Reinach (3668 inhabitants), Rheinfelden (3349 inhabitants),
Wohlen (3274 inhabitants), and Lenzburg (2588 inhabitants).
Aargau is an industrious and prosperous canton, straw-plaiting,
tobacco-growing, silk-ribbon weaving, and salmon-fishing in the
Rhine being among the chief industries. As this region was, up
to 141 5, the centre of the Habsburg power, we find here many
historical old castles (e.g. Habsburg, Lenzburg, Wildegg), and
former monasteries (e.g. Wettingen, Muri), founded by that
family, but suppressed in 1841, this act of violence being one of
the main causes of the civil war called the " Sonderbund War," in
1847 in Switzerland. The cantonal constitution dates mainly
from 1885, but since 1904 the election of the executive council of
five members is made by a direct vote of the people. The legisla-
ture consists of members elected in the proportion of one to every
1100 inhabitants. The "obligatory referendum" exists in the
case of all laws, while 5000 citizens have the right of " initiative "
in proposing bills or alterations in the cantonal constitution.
The canton sends 10 members to the federal Nationalrat, being
one for every 20,000, while the two Stdnderdte are (since 1 904)
elected by a direct vote of the people. The canton is divided into
eleven administrative districts, and contains 241 communes.

In 1415 the Aargau region was taken from the Habsburgs by the
Swiss Confederates. Bern kept the south-west portion (Zofingen,
Aarburg, Aarau, Lenzburg, and Brugg), but some districts, named
the Frete Amter or " free bailiwicks " (Mellingen, Muri, Villmergen,
and Bremgarten), with the county of Baden, were ruled as " subject
lands " by all or certain of the Confederates. In 1798 the Bernese
bit became the canton of Aargau of the Helvetic Republic, the re-
mainder forming the canton of Baden. In 1803, the two halves (plus
the Frick glen, ceded in 1802 by Austria to the Helvetic Republic)
were united under the name of Kanton Aargau, which was then ad-
mitted a full member of the reconstituted Confederation.

See also Argovia (published by the Cantonal Historical Society),
Aarau, from i860; F. X. Bronner, Der Kanton Aargau, 2 vols.,
St Gall and Bern, 1844; H. Lehmann, Die argauische Strohindustrie,
Aarau, 1896; W. Merz, Die mitlelalt. Ijurganlagen und Wehrbauten
d. Kant. Argau (fine illustrated work on castles), Aarau, 2 vols.,
1904-1906; W. Merz and F. E. Welti, Die Rechtsquellen d. Kant.
Argau, 3 vols., Aarau, 1898-1905; J. Miiller, Der Aargau, 2,vols.,
Zurich, 1870; E. L. Rochholz, Aargauer Weisthiimer, Aarau, 1877;
E. Zschokke, Geschichte des Aargaus, Aarau, 1903. (W. A. B. C.)

AARHUS, a seaport and bishop's see of Denmark, on the east
coast of Jutland, of which it is the principal port; the second
largest town in the kingdom, and capital of the ami (county) of
Aarhus. Pop. (1901) 51,814. The district is low-lying, fertile
and well wooded. The town is the junction of railways from all

AARON— AASEN

parts of the country. The harbour is good and safe, and agricul-
tural produce is exported, while coal and iron are among the
chief imports. The cathedral of the 13th century (extensively
restored) is the largest church in Denmark. There is a museum of
art and antiquities. To the south-west (13 m. by rail), a pictur-
esque region extends west from the railway junction of Skander-
borg, including several lakes, through which flows the Gudenaa,
the largest river in Jutland, and rising ground exceeding 500 ft.
in the Himmelbjerg. The railway traverses this pleasant district
of moorland and wood to Silkeborg, a modern town having one of
the most attractive situations in the kingdom. The bishopric of
Aarhus dates at least from 951.

AARON, the traditional founder and head of the Jewish priest-
hood, who, in company with Moses, led the Israelites out of
Egypt (see Exodus ; Moses) . The greater part of his life-history
is preserved in late Biblical narratives, which carry back exist-
ing conditions and beliefs to the time of the Exodus, and find
a precedent for contemporary hierarchical institutions in the
events of that period. Although Aaron was said to have been
sent by Yahweh (Jehovah) to meet Moses at the " mount of God "
(Horeb, Ex. iv. 27), he plays only a secondary part in the incidents
at Pharaoh's court. After the " exodus " from Egypt a striking
account is given of the vision of the God of Israel vouchsafed to
him and to his sons Nadab and Abihu on the same holy mount
(Ex. xxiv. 1 seq. 9-1 1), and together with Hur he was at the side
of Moses when the latter, by means of his wonder-working rod,
enabled Joshua to defeat the Amalekites (xvii. 8-16). Hur and
Aaron were left in charge of the Israelites when Moses and Joshua
ascended the mount to receive the Tables of the Law (xxiv.
12-15), and when the people, in dismay at the prolonged absence
of their leader, demanded a god, it was at the instigation of Aaron
that the golden calf was made (see Calf, Golden). This was
regarded as an act of apostasy which, according to one. tradition,
led to the consecration of the Levites, and almost cost Aaron his
life (cp. Deut. ix. 20). The incident paves the way for the account
of the preparation of the new tables of stone which contain a
series of laws quite distinct from the Decalogue (q.v.) (Ex.xxxiii.
seq.). Kadesh, and not Sinai or Horeb, appears to have been
originally the scene of these incidents (Deut. xxxiii. 8 seq. com-
pared with Ex. xxxii. 26 sqq.), and it was for some obscure
offence at this place that both Aaron and Moses were prohibited
from entering the Promised Land (Num. xx.). In what way they
had not " sanctified " (an allusion in the Hebrew to Kadesh
" holy ") Yahweh is quite uncertain, and it would appear that it
was for a similar offence that the sons of Aaron mentioned above
also met their death (Lev.x.3 ; cp. Num.xx. r2, Deut. xxxii. 51).
Aaron is said to have died at Moserah (Deut. x. 6), or at Mt. Hor ;
the latter is an unidentified site on the border of Edom (Num.
xx. 23, xxxiii. 37 ; for Moserah see ib. 30-31), and consequently
not in the neighbourhood of Petra, which has been the traditional
scene from the time of Josephus (Ant. iv. 4. 7).

Several difficulties in the present Biblical text appear to have
arisen from the attempt of later tradition to find a place for
Aaron in certain incidents. In the account of the contention
between Moses and his sister Miriam (Num. xii.), Aaron occupies
only a secondary position, and it is very doubtful whether he
was originally mentioned in the older surviving narratives. It
is at least remarkable that he is only thrice mentioned in Deuter-
onomy (ix. 20, x. 6, xxxii. 50). The post-exilic narratives give
him a greater share in the plagues of Egypt, represent him as
high-priest, and confirm his position by the miraculous budding
of his rod alone of all the rods of the other tribes (Num. xvii. ; for
parallels see Gray, coram, ad loc, p. 217). The latter story illus-
trates the growth of the older exodus-tradition along with the
development of priestly ritual : the old account of Korah's
revolt against the authority of Moses has been expanded, and
now describes (a) the divine prerogatives of the Levites in
general, and (b) the confirmation of the superior privileges of the
Aaronites against the rest of the Levites, a development which
can scarcely be earlier than the time of Ezekiel (xliv. 15 seq.).

Aaron's son Eleazar was buried in an Ephraimite locality known
after the grandson as the " hill of Phinehas " (Josh. xxiv. 33). Little

historical information has been preserved of either. The name
Phinehas (apparently of Egyptian origin) is better known as that of
a son of Eli, a member of the priesthood of Shiloh, and Eleazar is
only another form of Eliezer the son of Moses, to whose kin Eli is
said to have belonged. The close relation between Aaronite and
Levitical names and those of clans related to Moses is very note-
worthy, and it is a curious coincidence that the name of Aaron's
sister Miriam appears in a genealogy of Caleb (1 Chron. iv. 17)
with Jether (cp. Jethro) and Heber (cp. Kenites). In view
of the confusion of the traditions and the difficulty of interpreting
the details sketched above, the recovery of the historical Aaron
is a work of peculiar intricacy. He may well have been the tradi-
tional head of the priesthood, and R. H. Kennett has argued in
favour of the view that he was the founder of the cult at Bethel
(Journ. of Theol. Stud., 1905, pp. 161 sqq.), corresponding to the
Mosaite founder of Dan (q.v.). This throws no light upon the name,
which still remains quite obscure; and unless Aaron (Aharon) is
based upon Iron, " ark " (Redslob, R. P. A. Dozy, J. P. N. Land),
it must be placed in a line with the other un-Hebraic and difficult
names associated with Moses and Aaron, which are, apparently, of
South Palestinian (or North-Arabian) origin.

For the literature and a general account of the Jewish priesthood,
see the articles Levites and Priest. (S. A. C.)

AARON'S ROD, the popular name given to various tall
flowering plants (" hag taper," " golden rod," &c). In archi-
tecture the term is given to an ornamental rod with sprouting
leaves, or sometimes with a serpent entwined round it (from the
Biblical references in Exodus vii. 10 and Numbers xvii. 8).

AARSSENS, or Aarssen, FRANCIS VAN (1572-1641), a cele-
brated diplomatist and statesman of the United Provinces. His
talents commended him to the notice of Advocate Johan van
Oldenbarneveldt, who sent him, at the age of 26 years, as a
diplomatic agent of the states-general to the court of France.
He took a considerable part in the negotiations of the twelve
years' truce in 1606. His conduct of affairs having displeased the
French king, he was recalled from his post by Oldenbarneveldt
in 1 616. Such was the hatred he henceforth conceived against his
former benefactor, that he did his very utmost to effect his ruin.
He was one of the packed court of judges who in 1619 condemned
the aged statesman to death. For his share in this judicial murder
a deep stain rests on the memory of Aarssens. He afterwards be-
came the confidential counsellor of Maurice, prince of Orange,
and afterwards of Frederick Henry, prince of Orange, in their
conduct of the foreign affairs of the republic. He was sent on
special embassies to Venice, Germany and England, and dis-
played so much diplomatic skill and finesse that Richelieu ranked
him among the three greatest politicians of his time.

AASEN, IVAR (1813-1896), Norwegian philologist and lexico-
grapher, was born at Aasen i Orsten, in Sondmore, Norway, on
the 5th of August 1813. His father, a small peasant-farmer
named Ivar Jonsson, died in 1826. He was brought up to farm-
work, but he assiduously cultivated all his leisure in reading, and
when he was eighteen he opened an elementary school in his
native parish. In 1833 he entered the household of H. C. Thore-
sen, the husband of the eminent writer Magdalene Thoresen, in
Herb, and here he picked up the elements of Latin. Gradually,
and by dint of infinite patience and concentration, the young
peasant became master of many languages, and began the
scientific study of their structure. About 1841 he had freed
himself from all the burden of manual labour, and could occupy
his thoughts with the dialect of his native district, the Sondmore ;
his first publication was a small collection of folk-songs in the
Sondmore language (1843). His remarkable abilities now attracted
general attention, and he was helped to continue his studies un-
disturbed. His Grammar of the Norwegian Dialects (1848) was the
result of much labour, and of journeys taken to every part of
the country. Aasen's famous Dictionary of the Norwegian Dialects
appeared in its original form in 1850, and from this publication
dates all the wide cultivation of the popular language in Nor-
wegian, since Aasen really did no less than construct, out of the
different materials at his disposal, a popular language or definite
folke-maal for Norway. With certain modifications, the most
important of which were introduced later by Aasen himself, this
artificial language is that which has been adopted ever since
by those who write in dialect, and which later enthusiasts have
once more endeavoured to foist upon Norway as her official

AB— ABACUS

language in the place of Dano-Norwegian. Aasen composed
poems and plays in the composite dialect to show how it should
be used ; one of these dramas, The Heir (1855), was frequently
acted, and may be considered as the pioneer of all the abundant
dialect-literature of the last half-century, from Vinje down to
Garborg. Aasen continued to enlarge and improve his grammars
and his dictionary. He lived very quietly in lodgings in Chris-
tiania, surrounded by his books and shrinking from publicity,
but his name grew into wide political favour as his ideas about
the language of the peasants became more and more the watch-
word of the popular party. Quite early in his career, 1842, he
bad begun to receive a stipend to enable him to give his entire
attention to his philological investigations ; and the Storthing —
conscious of the national importance of his work — treated him in
this respect with more and more generosity as he advanced in
years. He continued his investigations to the last, but it may be
said that, after the 1873 edition of his Dictionary, he added but
little to his stores. Ivar Aasen holds perhaps an isolated place
in literary history as the one man who has invented, or at least
selected and constructed, a language which has pleased so many
thousands of his countrymen that they have accepted it for their
schools, their sermons and their songs. He died in Christiania
on the 23rd of September 1896, and was buried with public
honours. (E. G.)

AB, the fifth month of the ecclesiastical and the eleventh
of the civil year of the Jews. It approximately corresponds to
the period of the 1 5th of July to the 13th of August. The word
is of Babylonian origin, adopted by the Jews with other calendar
names after the Babylonian exile. Tradition ascribes the death
-of Aaron to the first day of Ab. On the ninth is kept the Fast of
Ab, or the Black Fast, to bewail the destruction of the first temple
by Nebuchadrezzar (586 B.C.) and of the second by Titus (a.d. 70).

ABA. (1) A form of altazimuth instrument, invented by, and
called after, Antoine d'Abbadie ; (2) a rough homespun manu-
factured in Bulgaria; (3) a long coarse shirt worn by the Bedouin
Arabs.

ABABDA (the Gebadei of Pliny, probably the Troglodytes of
classical writers), a nomad tribe of African " Arabs " of Hamitic
origin. They extend from the Nile at Assuan to the Red Sea,
and reach northward to the Kena-Kosseir road, thus occupying
the southern border of Egypt east of the Nile. They call them-
selves " sons of the Jinns." With some of the clans of the
Bisharin (q.v.) and possibly the Hadendoa (q.v.) they represent
the Blemmyes of classic geographers, and their location to-day is
almost identical with that assigned them in Roman times. They
were constantly at war with the Romans, who at last subsidized
them. In the middle ages they were known as Beja (q.v.), and
convoyed pilgrims from the Nile valley to Aidhab, the port of
embarkation for Jedda. From time immemorial they have acted
as guides to caravans through the Nubian desert and up the Nile
valley as far as Sennar. To-day many of them are employed in
the telegraph service across the Arabian desert. They inter-
married with the Nuba, and settled in small colonies at Shendi
and elsewhere long before the Egyptian invasion (a.d. 1 820-1822).
They are still great trade carriers, and visit very distant districts.
The Ababda of Egypt, numbering some 30,000, are governed by
an hereditary " chief." Although nominally a vassal of the
Khedive he pays no tribute. Indeed he is paid a subsidy, a por-
tion of the road-dues, in return for his safeguarding travellers
from Bedouin robbers. The sub-sheikhs are directly responsible to
him. The Ababda of Nubia, reported by Joseph von Russegger,
who visited the country in 1836, to number some 40,000, have
since diminished, having probably amalgamated with the
Bisharin, their hereditary enemies when they were themselves a
powerful nation. The Ababda generally speak Arabic (mingled
with Barabra [Nubian] words), the result of their long-continued
contact with Egypt; but the southern and south-eastern portion
of the tribe in many cases still retain their Beja dialect, To-
Bedawiet. Those of Kosseir will not speak this before strangers,
as they believe that to reveal the mysterious dialect would bring
ruin on them. Those nearest the Nile have much fellah blood in
them. As a tribe they claim an Arab origin, apparently through

their sheikhs. They have adopted the dress and habits of the
fellahin, unlike their kinsmen the Bisharin and Hadendoa, who
go practically naked. They are neither so fierce nor of so fine a
physique as these latter. They are lithe and well built, but
small: the average height is little more than 5 ft., except in the
sheikh clan, who are obviously of Arab origin. Their complexion
is more red than black, their features angular, noses straight and
hair luxuriant. They bear the character of being treacherous
and faithless, being bound by no oath, but they appear to be
honest in money matters and hospitable, and, however poor,
never beg. Formerly very poor, the Ababda became wealthy
after the British occupation of Egypt. Their chief settlements are
in Nubia, jWhere they live in villages and employ themselves in
agriculture. Others of them fish in the Red Sea and then hawk
the salt fish in the interior. Others are pedlars, while charcoal-
burning, wood-gathering and trading in gums and drugs, especi-
ally in senna leaves, occupy many. Unlike the true Arab, the
Ababda do not live in tents, but build huts with hurdles and mats,
or live in natural caves, as did their ancestors in classic times.
They have few horses, using the camel as beast of burden or
their " mount " in war. They live chiefly on milk and durra, the
latter eaten either raw or roasted. They are very superstitious,
believing, for example, that evil would overtake a family if a
girl member should, after her marriage, ever set eyes on her
mother: hence the Ababda husband has to make his home far
from his wife's village. In the Mahdist troubles (1 882-1898)
many " friendlies " were recruited from the tribe.

For their earlier history see Beja; see also Bisharin, Haden-
doa, Kabbabish; and the following authorities: — Sir F. R. Win-
gate, Mahdism and the Egyptian Sudan (Lond. 1891J ; Giuseppe Sergi,
Africa: Antropologia delta Stirpe Camitica (Turin, 1897); A. H.
Keane, Ethnology of Egyptian Sudan (Lond. 1884); Anglo-Egyptian
Sudan, edited by Count Gleichen (Lond. 1905); Joseph von Rus-
segger, Die Reisen in Afrika (Stuttgart, 1841-1850). (T. A. J.)

ABACA, or Abaka, a native name for the plant Musa lextilis,
which produces the fibre called Manila Hemp (q.v.).

ABACUS (Gr. fi/3a£, a slab; Fr. abaque, lailloir), in archi-
tecture, the upper member of the capital of a column. Its chief
function is to provide a larger supporting surface for the archi-
trave or arch it has to carry. In the Greek Doric order the abacus
is a plain square slab. In the Roman and Renaissance Doric
orders it is crowned by a moulding. In the Archaic-Greek Ionic
order, owing to the greater width of the capital, the abacus is
rectangular in plan, and consists of a carved ovolo moulding. In
later examples the abacus is square, except where there are angle
volutes, when it is slightly curved over the same. In the Roman
and Renaissance Ionic capital, the abacus is square with a fillet
on the top of an ogee moulding, but curved over angle volutes.
In the Greek Corinthian order the abacus is moulded, its sides
are concave and its angles canted (except in one or two excep-
tional Greek capitals, where it is brought to a sharp angle) ; and
the same shape is adopted in the Roman and Renaissance Corin-
thian and Composite capitals, in some cases with the ovolo
moulding carved. In Romanesque architecture the abacus is
square with the lower edge splayed off and moulded or carved,
and the same was retained in France during the medieval period;
but in England, in Early
English work, a circular
deeply moulded abacus
was introduced, which in
the 14th and 15th cen-
turies was transformed
into an octagonal one.
The diminutive of
Abacus, Abaciscus, is
applied in architecture to
the chequers or squares
of a tessellated pavement.
" Abacus " is also the
name of an instrument
employed by the ancients
for arithmetical calculations; pebbles, bits of bone or coins
being used as counters. Fig. 1 shows a Roman abacus taken

Fig. 1. — Roman Abacus.

ABADDON— ABANDONMENT

ffif#*» * * ' '£>jfe' * *

6 3

Fig,

2 7 15 4 8
2. — Chinese Swan-Pan.

from an ancient monument. It contains seven long and seven
shorter rods or bars, the former having four perforated beads
running on them and the latter one. The bar marked I indi-
cates units, X tens, and so on up to millions. The beads on
the shorter bars denote fives, — five units, five tens, &c. The
rod G and corresponding short rod are for marking ounces ;
and the short quarter rods for fractions of an ounce.

The Swan-Pan of the Chinese (fig. 2) closely resembles the
Roman abacus in. its construction and use. Computations are

made with it by means of
balls of bone or ivory run-
ning on slender bamboo
rods, similar to the simpler
board, fitted up with beads
strung on wires, which is
employed in teaching the
rudiments of arithmetic in
English schools.

The name of "abacus"
is also given, in logic, to an
instrument, often called the " logical machine," analogous to
the mathematical abacus. It is constructed to show all the
possible combinations of a set of logical terms with their nega-
tives, and, further, the way in which these combinations are
affected by the addition of attributes or other limiting words,
i.e. to simplify mechanically the solution of logical problems.
These instruments are all more or less elaborate developments
of the " logical slate," on which were written in vertical columns
all the combinations of symbols or letters which could be made
logically out of a definite number of terms. These were com-
pared with any given premises, and those which were incom-
patible were crossed off. In the abacus the combinations are
inscribed each on a single slip of wood or similar substance,
which is moved by a key; incompatible combinations can thus
be mechanically removed at will, in accordance with any given
series of premises. The principal examples of such machines
are those of W. S. Jevons (Element. Lessons in Logic, c. xxiii.),
John Venn (see his Symbolic Logic, 2nd ed., 1894, p. 13s),
and Allan Marquand (see American Academy of Arts and Sciences,
1885, pp. 303-7, and Johns Hopkins University Studies in Logic,
1883).

ABADDON, a Hebrew word meaning " destruction." In
poetry it comes to mean "place of destruction," and so the under-
world or Sheol (cf. Job xxvi. 6 ; Prov. xv.ji). In Rev. ix. 11
Abaddon ('AjSaSSwiO is used of hell personified, the prince of
the underworld. The term is here explained as Apollyoh (q.v.),
the " destroyer." W. Baudissin (Hcrzog-Hauck, Realencyklo-
padie) notes that Hades and Abaddon in Rabbinic writings are
employed as personal names, just as shemayya in Dan. iv. 23,
shamayim (" heaven "), and makom (" place ") among the
Rabbins, are used of God.

ABADEH, a small walled town of Persia, in the province of
Fars, situated at an elevation of 6200 ft. in a fertile plain on the
high road between Isfahan and Shiraz, 140 m. from the former
and 1 70 m. from the latter place. Pop. 4006. It is the chief place
of the Abadeh-Iklid district, which has 30 villages ; it has tele-
graph and post offices, and is famed for its carved wood-work,
small boxes, trays, sherbet spoons, &c, made of the wood of pear
and box trees:

ABAE ("A/3(u), a town in the N.E. corner of Phocis, in Greece,
famous in early times for its oracle of Apollo, one of those con-
sulted by Croesus (Herod, i. 46). It was rich in treasures (Herod,
viii. 33), but was sacked by the Persians, and the temple remained
in a ruined state. The oracle was, however, still consulted, e.g.
by the Thebans before Leuctra (Paus. iv. 32. 5). The temple
seems to have been burnt again during the Sacred War, and was
in a very dilapidated state when seen by Pausanias (x. 35),
though some restoration, as well as the building of a new temple,
was undertaken by Hadrian. The sanctity of the shrine ensured
certain privileges to the people of Abae (Bull. Corresp. Hell. vi.
171), and these were confirmed by the Romans. The polygonal
walls of the acropolis may still be seen in a fair state of preserva-

tion on a circular hill standing about 500 ft. above the little
plain of Exarcho ; one gateway remains, and there are also
traces of town walls below. The temple site was on a low spur of
the hill, below the town. An early terrace wall supports a pre-
cinct in which are a stoa and some remains of temples ; these
were excavated by the British School at Athens in 1894, but
very little was found.

See also W. M. Leake, Travels in Northern Greece, ii. p. 163;
Journal of Hellenic Studies, xvi. pp. 291-312 (V. W. Yorke).

(E. GR.)

ABAKANSK, a fortified town of Siberia, in the Russian
government of Yeniseisk, on the river Yenisei, 144 m. S.S.W. of
Krasnoyarsk, in lat. 54°2o' N., long. 9i°4o' E. This is considered
the mildest and most salubrious place in Siberia, and is remark-
able for certain tumuli (of the Li Kitai) and statues of men from
seven to nine feet high, covered with hieroglyphics. Peter the
Great had a fort built here in 1707. Pop. 2000.

ABALONE, the Spanish name used in California for various
species of the shell-fish of the Haliotidae family, with a richly
coloured shell yielding mother-of-pearl. This sort jof Haliotis is
also commonly called " ear-shell," and in Guernsey •" ormer "
(Fr. ormier, for oreille de mer). The abalone shell is found
especially at Santa Barbara and other places on the southern
Californian coast, and when polished makes a beautiful ornament.
The mollusc itself is often eaten, and dried for consumption in
China and Japan.

ABANA (or Amanah, classical Chrysorrhoas) and PHARPAR,
the "rivers of Damascus" (2 Kings v. 12), now generally
identified with the Barada (i.e. " cold ") and the A'waj (i.e.
" crooked ") respectively, though if the reference to Damascus
be limited to the city, as in the Arabic version of the Old Testa-
ment, Pharpar would be the modern Taura. Both streams run
from west to east across the plain of Damascus, which owes to
them much of its fertility, and lose themselves in marshes, or
lakes, as they are called, on the borders of the great Arabian
desert. John M'Gregor, who gives an interesting description of
them in his Rob 'Roy on the Jordan, affirmed that as a work of
hydraulic engineering, the system and construction of the canals,
by which the Abana and Pharpar were' used for irrigation, might
be considered as one of the most complete and extensive in the
world. As the Barada escapes from the mountains through a
narrow gorge, its waters spread out fan-like, in canals or " rivers,"
the name of one of which, Nahr Banias, retains a trace of Abana.

ABANCOURT, CHARLES XAVIER JOSEPH DE FRANQUE-
VILLE D' (1758-1792), Frenchstatesman, and nephew of Calonne.
He was Louis XVI.'s last minister of war (July 1792), and
organized the defence of the Tuileries for the 10th of August.
Commanded by the Legislative Assembly to send away the Swiss
guards, he refused, and was arrested for treason to the nation
and sent to Orleans to be tried. At the end of August the As-
sembly ordered Abancourt and the other prisoners at Orleans to
be transferred to Paris with an escort commanded by Claude
Fournier, " the American." At Versailles they learned of the
massacres at Paris, and Abancourt and his fellow-prisoners were
murdered in cold blood on the 8th of September 1792. Fournier
was unjustly charged with complicity in the crime.

ABANDONMENT (Fr. abandonnement, from abandonner, to
abandon, relinquish; abandonner was originally equivalent to
mellre Abandon, to leave to the jurisdiction, i.e. of another, bandon
being from Low Latin bandum, bannum, order, decree, " ban "),
in law, the relinquishment of an interest, claim, privilege or
possession. Its signification varies according to the branch of
the law in which it is employed, but the more important uses of
the word are summarized below.

Abandonment of an Action is the discontinuance of pro-
ceedings commenced in the High Court of Justice either because
the plaintiff is convinced that he will not succeed in his action or
for other reasons. Previous to the Judicature Act of 1875, con-
siderable latitude was allowed as to the time when a suitor
might abandon his action, and yet preserve his right to bring
another action on the same suit (see Nonsuit) ; but since 1875
this right has been considerably curtailed, and a plaintiff who

ABANO— ABATIS

has delivered his reply (see Pleading), and afterwards wishes to
abandon his action, can generally obtain leave so to do only on
condition of bringing no further proceedings in the matter.

Abandonment in marine insurance is the surrender of the
ship or goods insured to the insurers, in the case of a constructive
total loss of the thing insured. For the requisites and effects of
abandonment in this sense see Insurance, Marine.

Abandonment of wife and children is dealt with under
Desertion, and the abandonment or exposure of a young child
under the age of two, which is an indictable misdemeanour, is
dealt with under Children, Cruelty to.

Abandonment of domicile is the ceasing to reside perman-
ently in a former domicile coupled with the intention of choosing
a new domicile. The presumptions which will guide the court in
deciding whether a former domicile has been abandoned or not
must be inferred from the facts of each individual case. See
Domicile.

Abandonment of an easement is the relinquishment of some
accommodation»or right in another's land, such as right of way,
free access of light and air, &c. See Easement.

Abandonment of railways has a legal signification in Eng-
land recognized by statute, by authority of which the Board of
Trade may, under certain circumstances, grant a warrant to a
railway authorizing the abandonment of its line or part of it.

ABANO, PIETRO D' (1250-1316), known also as Petrus de
Apono or Aponensis, Italian physician and philosopher, was
born at the Italian town from which he takes his name in 1250,
or, according to others, in 1246. After studying medicine and
philosophy at Paris he settled at Padua, where he speedily gained
a great reputation as a physician, and availed himself of it to
gratify his avarice by refusing to visit patients except for an
exorbitant fee. Perhaps this, as well as his meddling with
astrology, caused him to be charged with practising magic, the
particular accusations being that he brought back into his purse,
by the aid of the devil, all the money he paid away, and that he
possessed the philosopher's stone. He was twice brought to trial
by the Inquisition ; on the first occasion he was acquitted, and
he died (13 16) before the second trial was completed. He was
found guilty, however, and his body was ordered to be exhumed
and burned ; but a friend had secretly removed it, and the
Inquisition had, therefore, to content itself with the public pro-
clamation of its sentence and the burning of Abano' in effigy. In
his writings he expounds and advocates the medical and philo-
sophical systems of Averroes and other Arabian writers. His
best known works are the Conciliator differentiarum quae inter
philosophos et medicos versantur (Mantua, 1472 ; Venice, 1476),
and De venenis eorumque remediis (1472), of which a French
translation was published at Lyons in 1593.

ABANO BAGNI, a town of Venetia, Italy, in the province of
Padua, on the E. slope of the Monti Euganei ; it is 6 m. S.W. by
rail from Padua. Pop. (1901) 4556. Its hot springs and mud
baths are much resorted to, and were known to the Romans as
Aponi fons or Aquae Patavinae. Some remains of the ancient
baths have been discovered (S. Mandruzzato, Trattato dei Bagni
d' Abano, Padua, 1789). An oracle of Geryon lay near, and the
so-called sortes Praenestinae (C.I.L. i., Berlin, 1863; 1438-1454),
small bronze cylinders inscribed, and used as oracles, were per-
haps found here in the 16th century.

ABARIS, a Scythian or Hyperborean, priest and prophet of
Apollo, who is said to have visited Greece about 770 B.C., or two
or three centuries later. According to the legend, he travelled
throughout the country, living without food and riding on a
golden arrow, the gift of the god ; he healed the sick, foretold the
future, worked miracles, and delivered Sparta from a plague
(Herod, iv. 36 ; Iamblichus, De Vit. Pythag. xix. 28). Suidas
credits him with several works : Scythian oracles, the visit of
Apollo to the Hyperboreans, expiatory formulas and a prose
theogony.

ABATED, an ancient technical term applied in masonry and
metal work to those portions which are sunk beneath the surface,
as in inscriptions where the ground is sunk round the letters so
as to leave the letters or ornament in relief.

ABATEMENT (derived through the French abattre, from the
Late Latin batter e, to beat), a beating down or diminishing or
doing away with ; a term used especially in various legal phrases.

Abatement of a nuisance is the remedy allowed by law to a
person or public authority injured by a public nuisance of de-
stroying or removing it, provided no breach of the peace is com-
mitted in doing so. In the case of private nuisances abatement is
also allowed provided there be no breach of the peace, and no
damage be occasioned beyond what the removal of the nuisance
requires. (See Nuisance.)

Abatement of freehold takes place where, after the death
of the person last seised, a stranger enters upon lands before the
entry of the heir or devisee, and keeps the latter out of possession.
It differs from intrusion, which is a similar entry by a stranger on
the death of a tenant for life, to the prejudice of the reversioner,
or remainder man ; and from disseisin, which is the forcible or
fraudulent expulsion of a person seised of the freehold. (See
Freehold.)

Abatement of debts and legacies. When the equitable
assets (see Assets) of a deceased person are not sufficient to
satisfy fully all the creditors, their debts must abate proportion-
ately, and they must accept a dividend. Also, in the case of
legacies when the funds or assets out of which they are payable
are not sufficient to pay them in full, the legacies abate in
proportion, unless there is a priority given specially to any
particular legacy (see Legacy). Annuities are also subject to
the same rule as general legacies.

Abatement in pleading, or plea in abatement, was the de-
feating or quashing of a particular action by some matter of
fact, such as a defect in form or the personalincompetency of the
parties suing, pleaded by the defendant. It did not involve the
merits of the cause, but left the right of action subsisting. In
criminal proceedings a plea in abatement was at one time a
common practice in answer to an indictment, and was set up for
the purpose of defeating the indictment as framed, by alleging
misnomer or other misdescription of the defendant. Its effect
for this purpose was nullified by the Criminal Law Act 1826,
which required the court to amend according to the truth, and
the Criminal Procedure Act 1851, which rendered description
of the defendant unnecessary. All pleas in abatement are now
abolished (R.S.C. Order 21, r. 20). See Pleading.

Abatement in litigation. In civil proceedings, no action
abates by reason of the marriage, death or bankruptcy of any of
the parties, if the cause of action survives or continues, and does
not become defective by the assignment, creation or devolution
of any estate or title pendente lite (R.S.C. Order 17, r. 1). Crim-
inal proceedings do not abate on the death of the prosecutor,
being in theory instituted by the crown, but the crown itself
may bring about their termination without any decision on the
merits and without the assent of the prosecutor.

Abatement of false lights. By the Merchant Shipping Act
1854, the general lighthouse authority (see Lighthouse) has
power to order the extinguishment or screening of any light
which may be mistaken for a light proceeding from a lighthouse.

Abatement in commerce is a deduction sometimes made at a
custom-house from the fixed duties on certain kinds of goods, on
account of damage or loss sustained in warehouses. The rate
and conditions of such deductions are regulated, in England, by
the Customs Consolidation Act 1853. (See also Drawback;
Rebate.)

Abatement in heraldry is a badge in coat-armour, indi-
cating some kind of degradation or dishonour. It is called also
rebatement.

ABATI, or Dell' Abbato, NICCOLO (1512-1571), a celebrated
fresco-painter of Modena, whose best works are there and at
Bologna. He accompanied Primaticcio to France, and assisted
in decorating the palace at Fontainebleau (1552-1571). His pic-
tures exhibit a combination of skill in drawing, grace and natural
colouring. Some of his easel pieces in oil arc in different collec-
tions ; one of the finest, in the Dresden Gallery, represents the
martyrdom of St Peter and St Paul.

ABATIS, Abattis or Abbattis (a French word meaning a heap

ABATTOIR— ABBADIDES

of material thrown), a term in field fortification for an obstacle
formed of the branches of trees laid in a row, with the tops
directed towards the enemy and interlaced or tied with wire.
The abatis is used alone or in combination with wire-entangle-
ments and other obstacles.

ABATTOIR (from abattre, to strike down), a French word often
employed in English as an equivalent of " slaughter-house "
(q.v.), the place -where animals intended for food are killed.

ABAUZIT, FIRMIN (1679-1767), a learned Frenchman, was
born of Protestant parents at Uzes, in Languedoc. His father
died when he was but two years of age; and when, on the revo-
cation of the edict of Nantes in 1685, the authorities took steps
to have him educated in the Roman Catholic faith, his mother
contrived his escape. For two years his brother and he lived as
fugitives in the mountains of the Cevennes, but they at last
reached Geneva, where their mother afterwards joined them on
escaping from the imprisonment in which she was held from the
time of their flight. Abauzit at an early age acquired great pro-
ficiency in languages, physics and theology. In 1698 he went to
Holland, and there became acquainted with Pierre Bayle, P.
Jurieu and J. Basnage. Proceeding to England, he was intro-
duced to Sir Isaac Newton, who found in him one of the earliest
defenders of his discoveries. Sir Isaac corrected in the second
edition of his Principia an error pointed out by Abauzit, and,
when sending him the Commercium Epistolicum, said, " You are
well worthy to judge between Leibnitz and me." The reputation
of Abauzit induced William III. to request him to settle in
England, but he did not accept the king's offer, preferring to
return to Geneva. There from 17 15 he rendered valuable assist-
ance to a society that had been formed for translating the New
Testament into French. He declined the offer of the chair of
philosophy in the university in 1723, but accepted, in 1727, the
sinecure office of librarian to the city of his adoption. Here he
died at a good old age, in 1767. Abauzit was a man of great
learning and of wonderful .versatility. Whatever chanced to be
discussed, it used to be said of Abauzit, as of Professor W. Whewell
of more modern times, that he seemed to have made it a subject
of particular study. Rousseau, who was jealously sparing of his
praises, addressed to him, in his Nouvelle HSloise, a fine pane-
gyric; and when a stranger flatteringly told Voltaire he had
come to see a great man, the philosopher asked him if he had seen
Abauzit. Little remains of the labours of this intellectual giant,
his heirs having, it is said, destroyed the papers that came into
their possession, because their own religious opinions were
different. A few theological, archaeological and astronomical
articles from his pen appeared in the Journal Helvitique and else-
where, and he contributed several papers to Rousseau's Dic-
tionnaire de musique (1767). He wrote a work throwing doubt on
the canonical authority of the Apocalypse, which called forth a
reply from Dr Leonard Twells. He also edited and made valuable
additions to J. Spon's Histoire de la rtpublique de Geneve. A
collection of his writings was published at Geneva in 1770
((Euvres de feu M. Abauzit), and another at London in 1773
(CEuvres dlverses de M. Abauzit). Some of them were translated
into English by Dr Edward Harwood (1774).

Information regarding Abauzit will be found in J. Senebier's
Histoire Lilteraire de Geneve, Harwood's Miscellanies, and W. Orme's
Bibliotheca Biblica (1824).

'ABA YE, the name of a Babylonian 'amora (q.v.), born in the
middle of the 3rd century. He died in 339.

'ABBA 'ARIKA, the name of the Babylonian 'amora (q.v.) of
the 3rd century, who established at Sura the systematic study of
the Rabbinic traditions which, using the Mishnah as text, led to
the compilation of the Talmud. He is commonly known as Rab.

ABBADIDES, a Mahommcdan dynasty which arose in Spain on
the downfall of the western caliphate. It lasted from about 1023
till 1091, but during the short period of its existence was singu-
larly active and typical of its time. The founder of the house was
Abd-ul-Qasim Mahommed, the cadi of Seville in 1023. He was
the chief of an Arab family settled in the city from the first days
of the conquest. The Beni-abbad were not of ancient descent,
though the poets, whom they paid largely, made an illustrious

pedigree for them when they had become powerful. They .were,
however, very rich. Abd-ul-Qasim gained the confidence of the
townsmen by organizing .a successful resistance to the Berber
soldiers of fortune who were grasping at the fragments of the
caliphate. At first he professed to rule only with the advice of a
council formed of the nobles, but when his power became estab-
lished he dispensed with this show of republican government, and
then gave himself the appearance of a legitimate title by protect-
ing an impostor who professed to be the caliph Hisham II. When
Abd-ul-Qasim died in 1042 he had created a state which, though
weak in itself, was strong as compared to the little powers about
it. He had made his family the recognized leaders of the Mahom-
medans of Arab and native Spanish descent against the Berber
element, whose chief was the king of Granada. Abbad, surnamed
El Motaddid, his son and successor, is one of the most remarkable
figures in Spanish Mahommedan history. He had a striking re-
semblance to the Italian princes of the later middle ages and the
early renaissance, of the stamp of Filipo Maria Visccnti. El
Motaddid was a poet and a lover of letters, who was also a
poisoner, a drinker of wine, a sceptic and treacherous to the
utmost degree. Though he waged war all through his reign he
very rarely appeared in the field, but directed the generals, whom
he never trusted, from his " lair " in the fortified palace, the
Alcazar of Seville. He killed with his own hand one of his sons
who had rebelled against him. On one occasion he trapped a
number of his enemies, the Berber chiefs of the Ronda, into
visiting him, and got rid of them by smothering them in the hot
room of a hath. It was his taste to preserve the skulls of the
enemies he had killed — those of the meaner men to be used as
flower-pots, while those* of the princes were kept in special chests.
His reign until his death on the 28th of February 1069 was mainly
spent in extending his power at the expense of his smaller neigh-
bours, and in conflicts with his chief rival the king of Granada.
These incessant wars weakened the Mahommcdans, to the great
advantage of the rising power of the Christian kings of Leon and
Castile, but they gave the kingdom of Seville a certain superiority
over the other little states. After 1063 he was assailed by
Fernando El Magno of Castile and Leon, who marched to the
gates of Seville, and forced him to pay tribute. His son,
Mahommed Abd-ul-Qasim Abenebet — who reigned by the title
of El Motamid — was the third and last of the Abbadides. He
was a no less remarkable person than his father and much more
amiable. Like him he was a poet, and a favourer of poets. El
Motamid went, however, considerably further in patronage of
literature than his father, for he chose as his favourite and prime
minister the poet Ibn Ammar. In the end the vanity and
featherheadedness of Ibn Ammar drove his master to kill him.
El Motamid was even more influenced by his favourite wife,
Romaica, than by his vizir. He had met her paddling in the
Guadalquivir, purchased her from her master, and made her his
wife. The caprices of Romaica, and the lavish extravagance of
Motamid in his efforts to please her, form the subject of many
stories. In politics he carried on the feuds of his family with the
Berbers, and in his efforts to extend his dominions could be as
faithless as his father. His wars and his extravagance exhausted
his treasury, and he oppressed his subjects by taxes. In 1080
he brought down upon himself the vengeance of Alphonso VI.
of Castile by a typical piece of flighty oriental barbarity. He had
endeavoured to pay part of his tribute to the Christian king with
false money. The fraud was detected by a Jew, who was one of
the envoys of Alphonso. El Motamid, in a moment of folly and
rage, crucified the Jew and imprisoned the Christian members
of the mission. Alphonso retaliated by a destructive raid. When
Alphonso took Toledo in 1085, El Motamid called in Yusef ibn
Tashfin, the Almoravide (see Spain, History, and Almoravides).
During the six years which preceded his deposition in 1091, El
Motamid behaved with valour on the field, but with much
meanness and political folly. He endeavoured to curry favour
with Yusef by betraying the other Mahommcdan princes to him,
and intrigued to secure the alliance of Alphonso against the
Almoravide. It was probably during this period that he sur-
rendered his beautiful daughter Zaida to the Christian king, who

ABBADIE— ABBAS II.

made her his concubine, and is said by some authorities to have
married her after she bore him a son, Sancho. The vacillations
and submissions of El Motamid did not save him from the fate
which overtook his fellow-princes. Their scepticism and extor-
tion had tired their subjects, and the mullahs gave Yusef a
" fetva " authorizing him to remove them in the interest of
religion. In 1091 the Almoravides stormed Seville. El Motamid,
who had fought bravely, was weak enough to order his sons to
surrender the fortresses they still held, in order to save his own
life. He died in prison in Africa in 1095.

Authorities. — Dozy, Histoire des Musulmans d'Espagne, Leiden,
1861 ; and Historia Abbadidarum (Scriptorum Arabum loci de
Abbadidio), Leiden, 1846. (D. H.)

ABBADIE, ANTOINE THOMSON D' (1810-1897), and AR-
NAUD MICHEL D' (1815-1893), two brothers notable for their
travels in Abyssinia during the first half of the 19th century.
They were both born in Dublin, of a French father and an Irish
mother, Antoine in 1810 and Arnaud in 1815. The parents re-
moved to France in 18 18, and there the brothers received a'
careful scientific education. In 1835 tne French Academy sent
Antoine on a scientific mission to Brazil, the results being pub-
lished at a later date (1873) under the title of Observations relatives
a la physique du globe failes au Bresil el en Ethiopie. The younger
Abbadie spent some time in Algeria before, in 1837, the two
brothers started for Abyssinia, landing at Massawa in February
1838. They visited various parts of Abyssinia, including the then
little-known districts of Ennarea and Kaffa, sometimes together
and sometimes separately. They met with many difficulties and
many adventures, and became involved in political intrigues,
Antoine especially exercising such influence as he possessed in
favour of France and the Roman Catholic missionaries. After
collecting much valuable information concerning the geography,
geology, archaeology and natural history of Abyssinia, the
brothers returned to France in 1848 and began to prepare their
materials for publication. The younger brother, Arnaud, paid
another visit to Abyssinia in 1853. The more distinguished
brother, Antoine, became involved in various controversies re-
lating both to his geographical results and his political intrigues.
He was especially attacked by C. T. Beke, who impugned his
veracity, especially with reference to the journey to Kaffa. But
time and the investigations of subsequent explorers have shown
that Abbadie was quite trustworthy as to his facts, though wrong
in his contention — hotly contested by Beke — that the Blue Nile
was the main stream. The topographical results of his explora-
tions were published in Paris in 1860-1873 in Giodisie d'£thiopie,
full of the most valuable information and illustrated by ten maps.
Of the GSographie de l'£lhiopie (Paris, 1890) only one volume has
been published. In Un Catalogue raisonni de manuscrits ithiopiens
(Paris, 1859) is a description of 234 Ethiopian manuscripts col-
lected by Antoine. He also compiled various vocabularies, in-
cluding a Dictionnaire de la langue amarinna (Paris, 1881), and
prepared an edition of the Shepherd of Hernias, with the Latin
version, in 1 860. He published numerous papers dealing with the
geography of Abyssinia, Ethiopian coins and ancient inscriptions.
Under the title of Reconnaissances magniliques he published in
1890 an account of the magnetic observations made by him in the
course of several journeys to the Red Sea and the Levant. The
general account of the travels of the two brothers was published
by Arnaud in 1868 under the title of Douze ans dans la Haule-
Ethiopie. Both brothers received the grand medal of the Paris
Geographical Society in 1850. Antoine was a knight of the
Legion of Honour and a member of the Academy of Sciences. He
died in 1897, and bequeathed an estate in the Pyrenees, yielding
40,000 francs a year, to the Academy of Sciences, on condition of
its producing within fifty years a catalogue of half-a-million
stars. His brother Arnaud died in 1893. (J. S. K.)

ABBADIE, JAKOB (i6s4?-i727), Swiss Protestant divine,
was born at Nay in Bern. He studied at Sedan, Saumur and
Puylaurens, with such success that he received the degree of
doctor in theology at the age of seventeen. After spending some
years in Berlin as minister of a French Protestant church, where
he had great success as a preacher, he accompanied Marshal

Schomberg, in 1688, to England, and next year became minister
of the French church in the Savoy, London. His strong attach-
ment to the cause of King William appears in his elaborate de-
fence of the Revolution (Defense de la nation britannique, 1692) as
well as in his history of the conspiracy of 1696 (Histoire de la
grande conspiration d'A ngleterre) . The king promoted him to the
deanery of Killaloe in Ireland. He died in London in 1727.
Abbadie was a man of great ability and an eloquent preacher, but
is best known by his religious treatises, several of which were
translated from the original French into other languages and had
a wide circulation throughout Europe. The most important of
these are Traiti de la verilS de la religion chrilienne (1684); its
continuation, Traile de la divinitl de Jhus-Christ (1689); and
L'Art de se connattre soi-mlme (1692).

'ABBAHU, the name of a Palestinian 'amora (q.v.) who flour-
ished c. 279-320. 'Abbahu encouraged the study of Greek by
Jews. He was famous as a collector of traditional lore, and is
very often cited in the Talmud.

ABBA MARI (in full, Abba Mari ben Moses ben Joseph), French
rabbi, was born at Lunel, near Montpellier, towards the end of
the 13th century. He isalso known as Yarhi from his birthplace
(Heb. Yerah, i.e. moon, lune), and he further took the name
Astruc, Don Astruc or En Astruc of Lunel. The descendant of
men learned in rabbinic lore, Abba Mari devoted himself to the
study of theology and philosophy, and made himself acquainted
with the writing of Moses Maimonides and Nachmanides as well
as with the Talmud. In Montpellier, where he lived from 1303 to
1306, he was much distressed by the prevalence of Aristotelian
rationalism, which, through the medium of the works of Maimon-
ides, threatened the authority of the Old Testament, obedience
to the law," and the belief in miracles and revelation. He, there-
fore, in a series of letters (afterwards collected under the title
Minhal Kenaot, i.e. " Jealousy Offering ") called upon the famous
rabbi Solomon ben Adret of Barcelona to come to the aid of
orthodoxy. Ben Adret, with the approval of other prominent
Spanish rabbis,' sent a letter to the community at Montpellier
proposing to forbid the study of philosophy to those who were
less than thirty years of age, and, in spite of keen opposition from
the liberal section, a decree in this sense was issued by ben Adret
in 1305. The result was a great schism among the Jews of Spain
and southern France, and a new impulse was given to the study
of philosophy by the unauthorized interference of the Spanish
rabbis. On the expulsion of the Jews from France by Philip IV.
in 1306, Abba Mari settled at Perpignan, where he published the
letters connected with the controversy. His subsequent history
is unknown. Beside the letters, he was the author of liturgical
poetry and works on civil law.

Authorities. — Edition of the Minhat Kenaot by M. L. Bislichis
(Pressburg, 1838); E. Renan, Les rabbins francais, pp. 647 foil.;
Perles, Salomo ben Abraham ben Aderelh, pp. 15-54; Jewish En-
cyclopaedia, s.v. " Abba Mari."

ABBAS I. (1813-1854), pasha of Egypt, was a son of Tusun
Pasha and grandson of Mehemet Ali, founder of the reigning
dynasty. As a young man he fought in Syria under Ibrahim
Pasha (q.v.), his real or supposed uncle. The death of Ibrahim in
November 1848 made Abbas regent of Egypt, and in August
following, on the death of Mehemet Ali — who had been deposed
in July 1848 on account of mental weakness, — Abbas succeeded
to the pashalik. He has been generally described as a mere
voluptuary, but Nubar Pasha spoke of him as a true Turkish
gentleman of the old school. He was without question a re-
actionary, morose and taciturn, and spent nearly all his time shut
up in his palace. He undid, as far as lay in his power, the works
of his grandfather, good and bad. Among other things he abol-
ished trade monopolies, closed factories and schools, and reduced
the strength of the army to 9000 men. He was inaccessible to
adventurers bent on plundering Egypt, but at the instance of the
British government allowed the construction of a railway from
Alexandria to Cairo. In July 1854 he was murdered in Benha
Palace by two of his slaves, and was succeeded by his uncle, Said
Pasha.

ABBAS II. (1874- ),khedive of Egypt. Abbas Hilmi Pasha,

ABBAS I.— ABBAZIA

great-great-grandson of Mehemet AH, born on the 14th of July
1874, succeeded his father, Tewfik Pasha, as khedive of Egypt on
the 8th of January 1892. When a boy he visited England, and he
had an English tutor for some time in Cairo. He then went to
school in Lausanne, and from there passed on to the Theresianum
in Vienna. In addition to Turkish, his mother tongue, he ac-
quired fluency in Arahic, and a good conversational knowledge
of English, French and German. He was still at college in
Vienna when the sudden death of his father raised him to the
Khedivate; and he was barely of age according to Turkish law,
which fixes majority at eighteen in cases of succession to the
throne. For some time he did not co-operate very cordially with
Great Britain. He was young and eager to exercise his new
power. His throne and life had not been saved for him by the
British, as was the case with his father. He was surrounded by
intriguers who were playing a game of their own, and for some
time he appeared almost disposed to be as reactionary as his
great-uncle Abbas I. But in process of time he learnt to under-
stand the importance of British counsels. He paid a second visit
to England in 1900, during which he frankly acknowledged the
great good the British had done in Egypt, and declared himself
ready to follow their advice and to co-operate with the British
officials administering Egyptian affairs. The establishment of a
sound system of native justice, the great remission of taxation,
the reconquest of the Sudan, the inauguration of the stupendous
irrigation works at Assuan, the increase of cheap, sound educa-
tion, each received his approval and all the assistance he could
give. He displayed more interest in agriculture than in state-
craft, and his farm of cattle and horses at Koubah, near Cairo,
would have done credit to any agricultural show in England; at
Montaza, near Alexandria, he created a similar establishment.
He married the Princess Ikbal Hanem and had several children.
Mahommed Abdul Mouneim, the heir-apparent, was born on the
20th of February 1899.

ABBAS I. (c. 1557-1628 or 1629), shah of Persia, called the
Great, was the son of shah Mahommed (d. 1 586) . In the midst of
general anarchy in Persia, he was proclaimed ruler of Khorasan,
and obtained possession of the Persian throne in 1586. Deter-
mined to raise the fallen fortunes of his country, he first directed
his efforts against the predatory Uzbegs, who occupied and har-
assed Khorasan. After a long and severe struggle, he regained
Meshed, defeated them in a great battle near Herat in 1597, and
drove them out of his dominions. In the .wars he carried on with
the Turks during nearly the whole of his reign, his successes
were numerous, and he acquired, or regained, a large extent of
territory. By the victory he gained at Bassora in 1605 he ex-
tended his empire beyond the Euphrates; sultan Ahmed I. was
forced to cede Shirvan and Kurdistan in 1611; the united armies
of the Turks and Tatars were completely defeated near Sultanieh
in 1618, and Abbas made peace on very favourable terms; and
on the Turks renewing the war, Bagdad fell into his hands after a
year's siege in 1623. In 1622 he took the island of Ormuz from
the Portuguese, by the assistance of the British, and much of its
trade was diverted to the town of Bander-Abbasi, which was
named after the shah. When he died, his dominions reached
from the Tigris to the Indus. Abbas distinguished himself, not
only by his successes in arms, and by the magnificence of his
court and of the buildings which he erected, but also by his re-
forms in the administration of his kingdom. He encouraged com-
merce, and, by constructing highways and building bridges, did
much to facilitate it. To foreigners, especially Christians, he
showed a spirit of tolerance; two Englishmen, Sir Anthony and
Sir Robert Shirley, or Sherley, were admitted to his confidence.
His fame is tarnished, however, by numerous deeds of tyranny
and cruelty. His own family, especially, suffered from his fits of
jealousy; his eldest son was slain, and the eyes of his other
children were put out, by his orders.

See The Three Brothers, or Travels of Sir Anthony, Sir Robert
Sherley, &c. (London, 1825); Sir C. R. Markham, General Sketch
of the History of Persia (London, 1874).

ABBASIDS, the name generally given to the caliphs of Bagdad,
the second of the two great dynasties of the Mahommedan em-

pire. The Abbasid caliphs officially based their claim to the
throne on their descent from Abbas (a.d. 566-652), the eldest
uncle of Mahomet, in virtue of which descent they regarded
themselves as the rightful heirs of the Prophet as opposed to the
Omayyads, the descendants of Omayya. Throughout the second
period of the Omayyads, representatives of this family were
among their most dangerous opponents, partly by the skill with
which they undermined the reputation of the reigning princes by
accusations against their orthodoxy, their moral character and
their administration in general, and partly by their cunning
manipulation of internecine jealousies among the Arabic and non-
Arabic subjects of the empire. In the reign of Merwan II. this
opposition culminated in the rebellion of Ibrahim the Imam, the
fourth in descent from Abbas, who, supported by the province of
Khorasan, achieved considerable successes, but was captured
(a.d. 747) and died in prison (as some hold, assassinated). The
quarrel was taken up by his brother Abdallah, known by the
name of Abul-Abbas as-Saffah, who after a decisive victory on
the Greater Zab (750) finally crushed the Omayyads and was
proclaimed caliph.

The history of the new dynasty is marked by perpetual strife
and the development of luxury and the liberal arts, in place of the
old-fashioned austerity of thought and manners. Mansur, the
second of the house, who transferred the seat of government to
Bagdad, fought successfully against the peoples of Asia Minor,
and the reigns of Harun al-Rashid (786-809) and Mamun (813-
833) were periods of extraordinary splendour. But the empire as
a whole stagnated and then decayed rapidly. Independent mon-
archs established themselves in Africa and Khorasan (Spain had
remained Cmayyad throughout), and in the north-west the
Greeks successfully encroached. The ruin of the dynasty came,
however, from those Turkish slaves who were constituted as a
royal bodyguard by Moqtasim (833-842). Their power steadily
grew until Radi (934-941) was constrained to hand over most
of the royal functions to Mahommed b. Raik. Province after
province renounced the authority of the caliphs, who were merely
lay figures, and finally Hulagu, the Mongol chief, burned Bagdad
(Feb. 28th, 1258). The Abbasids still maintained a feeble
show of authority, confined to religious matters, in Egypt under
the Mamelukes, but the dynasty finally disappeared with Mota-
wakkil III., who was carried away as a prisoner to Constantinople
by Selim I.

See Caliphate (Sections B, 14 and C), where a detailed account
of the dynasty will be found.

ABBAS MIRZA (c. 1783-1833), prince of Persia, was a younger
son of the shah, Feth Alf, but on account of his mother's royal
birth was destined by his father to succeed him. Entrusted with
the government of a part of Persia, he sought to rule it in Euro-
pean fashion, and employed officers to reorganize his army. He
was soon at war with Russia, and his aid was eagerly solicited by
both England and Napoleon, anxious to checkmate one another
in the East. Preferring the friendship of France, Abbas continued
the war against Russia, but his new ally could give him very little
assistance, and in 1814 Persia was compelled to make a disadvan-
tageous peace. He gained some successes during a war between
Turkey and Persia which broke out in 182 1, but cholera attacked
his army, and a treaty was signed in 1823. His second war with
Russia, which began in 1825, was attended with the same want of
success as the former one, and Persia was forced to cede some
territory. When peace was made in 1828 Abbas then sought to
restore order in the province of Khorasan, which was nominally
under Persian supremacy, and while engaged in the task died at
Meshed in 1833. In 1834 his eldest son, Mahommed Mirza, suc-
ceeded Feth Ali as shah. Abbas was an intelligent prince,
possessed some literary taste, and is noteworthy on account of
the comparative simplicity of his life.

ABBAS-TUMAN, a spa in Russian Transcaucasia, government
of Tiflis, 50 m. S.W. of the Borzhom railway station and 65 m. E.
of Batum, very picturesquely situated in a cauldron-shaped
valley. It has hot sulphur baths (932°-n8£° Fahr.) and an
astronomical observatory (4240 ft.).

ABBAZIA, a popular summer and winter resort of Austria, in

ABBESS— ABBEY

Istria, 56 m. S.E. of Trieste by rail. Pop. (1900) 2343. It is
situated on the Gulf of Quarnero in a sheltered position at the
foot of the Monte Maggiore (4580 ft.), and is surrounded by
beautiful woods of laurel. The average temperature is 50° Fahr.
in winter, and 77 Fahr. in summer. The old abbey, San Giacomo
della Priluca, from which the place derives its name, has been
converted into a villa. Abbazia is frequented annually by about
16,000 visitors. The whole sea-coast to the north and south of
Abbazia is rocky and picturesque, and contains several smaller
winter-resorts. The largest of them is Lovrana (pop. 513), situ-
ated s m. to the south.

ABBESS (Lat. abbatissa, fem. form of abbas, abbot), the female
superior of an abbey or convent of nuns. The mode of election,
position, rights and authority of an abbess correspond generally
with those of an abbot (?.!>.). The office is elective, the choice
being by the secret votes of the sisters from their own body. The
abbess is solemnly admitted to her office by episcopal benediction,
together with the conferring of a staff and pectoral cross, and
holds for life, though liable to be deprived for misconduct. The
council of Trent fixed the qualifying age at forty, with eight years
of profession. Abbesses have a right to demand absolute obedi-
ence of their nuns, over whom they exercise discipline, extending
even to the power of expulsion, subject, however, to the bishop.
As a female an abbess is incapable of performing the spiritual
functions of the priesthood belonging to an abbot. She can-
not ordain, confer the veil, nor excommunicate. In England
abbesses attended ecclesiastical councils, e.g. that of Becanfield
in 694, where they signed before the presbyters.

By Celtic usage abbesses presided over joint-houses of monks
and nuns. This custom accompanied Celtic monastic missions
to France and Spain, and even to Rome itself. At a later period,
a.d. 1115, Robert, the founder of Fontevraud, committed the
government of the whole order, men as well as women, to a female
superior.

In the German Evangelical church the title of abbess(Aebtissin)
has in some cases — e.g. Itzehoe — survived to designate the heads
of abbeys which since the Reformation have continued as Stifle,
i.e. collegiate foundations, which provide a home and an income
for unmarried ladies, generally of noble birth, called canonesses
(Kanonissinen) or more usually Stiftsdamen. This office of abbess
is of considerable social dignity, and is sometimes filled by prin-
cesses of the reigning houses.

ABBEVILLE, a town of northern France, capital of an arron-
dissement in the department of Somme, on the Somme, 12 m.
from its mouth in the English Channel, and 28 m. N.W. of Amiens
on the Northern railway. Pop. (1901) 18,519; (1906) 18,971.
It lies in a pleasant and fertile valley, and is built partly
on an island and partly on both sides of the river, which is
canalized from this point.to the estuary. The streets are narrow,
and the houses are mostly picturesque old structures, built of
wood, with many quaint gables and dark archways. The most
remarkable building is the church of St Vulfran, erected in the
15th, 16th and 17th centuries. The original design was not
completed. The nave has only two bays and the choir is insig-
nificant. The facade is a magnificent specimen of the flamboyant
Gothic style, flanked by two Gothic towers. Abbeville has
several other old churches and an h6tel-de-ville, with a belfry of
the 13th century. Among the numerous old houses, that known
as the Maison de Francois I", which is the most remarkable;
dates from the 16th century. There is a statue of Admiral
Courbet (d. 1885) in the chief square. The public institutions
include tribunals of first instance and of commerce, a board of
trade-arbitrators, and a communal college. Abbeville is an
important industrial centre; in addition to its old-established
manufacture of cloth, hemp-spinning, sugar-making, ship-building
and locksmiths' work are carried on; there is active commerce
in grain, but the port has little trade.

Abbeville, the chief town of the district of Ponthieu, first
appears in history during the 9th century. At that time belong-
ing to the abbey of St Riquier, it was afterwards governed by the
counts of Ponthieu. Together with that county, it came into the
possession of the Alencon and other French families, and after-

wards into that of the house of Castille, from whom by marriage
it fell in 1272 to Edward I., king of England. French and English
were its masters by turns till 1435 when, by the treaty of Arras,
it was ceded to the duke of Burgundy. In 1477 it was annexed
by Louis XL, king of France, and was held by two illegitimate
branches of the royal family in the .16th and 17th centuries,
being in 1696 reunited to the crown.

ABBEY, EDWIN AUSTIN (1852- ), American painter, was
born at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the 1st of April 1852. He
left the schools of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts at the
age of nineteen to enter the art department of the publishing
house of Harper & Brothers in New York, where, in company
with such men as Howard Pyle, Charles Stanley Reinhart, Joseph
Pennell and Alfred Parsons, he became very successful as an
illustrator. In 1878 he was sent by the Harpers to England to
gather material for illustrations of the poems of Robert Herrick.
These, published in 1882, attracted much attention, and were
followed by illustrations for Goldsmith's She Stoops to Conquer
(1887), for a volume of Old Songs (1889), and for the comedies
(and a few of the tragedies) of Shakespeare. His water-colours
and pastels were no less successful than the earlier illustrations
in pen and ink. Abbey now became closely identified with the
art life of England, and was elected to the Royal Institute of
Painters in Water-Colours in 1883. Among his water-colours are
" The Evil Eye " (1877); " The Rose in October" (1879); " An
Old Song" (1886); "The Visitors" (1890), and "The Jong-
leur " (1892). Possibly his best known pastels are " Beatrice, "
" Phyllis," and " Two Noble Kinsmen." In 1890 he made his
first appearance with an oil painting, " A May Day Morn," at
the Royal Academy in London. He exhibited " Richard duke of
Gloucester and the Lady Anne " at the Royal Academy in 1896,
and in that year was elected A.R.A., becoming a full R.A. in
1898. Apart from his other paintings, special mention must be
made of the large frescoes entitled "The Quest of the Holy Grail,"
in the Boston Public Library, on which he was occupied for some
years; and in 1901 he was commissioned by King Edward VII.
to paint a picture of the coronation, containing many portraits
elaborately grouped. The dramatic subjects, and the brilliant
colouring of his oil pictures, gave them pronounced individuality
among the works of contemporary painters. Abbey became a
member not only of the Royal Academy, but also of the National
Academy of Design of New York, and honorary member of the
Royal Bavarian Society, the Societe Nationale des Beaux Arts
(Paris), the American Water-Colour Society, etc. He received
first class gold medals at the International Art Exhibition of
Vienna in 1898, at Philadelphia in 1898, at the Paris Exhibitions
of 1889 and 1900, and at Berlin in 1903; and was made a cheva-
lier of the French- Legion of Honour.

ABBEY (Lat. abbatia; from Syr. abba, father), a monastery,
or conventual establishment, under the government of an abbot
or an abbess. A priory only differed from an abbey in that the
superior bore the name of prior instead of abbot. This was. the
case in all the English conventual cathedrals, e.g. Canterbury,
Ely, Norwich, &c, where the archbishop or bishop occupied the
abbot's place, the superior of the monastery being termed prior.
Other priories were originally offshoots from the larger abbeys,
to the abbots of which they continued subordinate; but in later
times the actual distinction between abbeys and priories was lost.

The earliest Christian monastic communities (see Monasti-
cism) with which we are acquainted consisted of groups of cells
or huts collected about a common centre, which was usually the
abode of some anchorite celebrated for superior holiness or
singular asceticism, but without any attempt at orderly arrange-
ment. The formation of such communities in the East does not
date from the introduction of Christianity. The example had
been already set by the Essenes in Judea and the Therapeutae
in Egypt.

In the earliest age of Christian monasticism the ascetics were
accustomed to live singly, independent of one another, at no
great distance from some village, supporting themselves by the
labour of their own hands, and distributing the surplus after the
supply of their own scanty wants to the poor. Increasing religious

ABBEY

fervour, aided by persecution, drove them farther and farther
away from the abodes of men into mountain solitudes or lonely
deserts. The deserts of Egypt swarmed with the " cells " or huts
of these anchorites. Anthony, who had retired to the Egyptian
Thebaid during the persecution of Maximin, a.d. 312, was the
most celebrated among them for his austerities, his sanctity, and
his power as an exorcist. His fame collected round him a host of
followers, emulous of his sanctity. The deeper he withdrew into
the wilderness, the more numerous his disciples became. They
refused to be separated from him, and built their cells round that
of their spiritual father. Thus arose the first monastic com-
munity, consisting of anchorites living each in his own little
dwelling, united together under one superior. Anthony, as
Neander remarks {Church History, vol. iii. p. 316, Clark's trans.),
" without any conscious design of his own, had become the
founder of a new mode of living in common, Coencbitism." By
degrees order was introduced in the groups of huts. They were
arranged in lines like the tents in an encampment, or the houses
in a street. From this arrangement these lines of single cells
came to be known as Laurae, AaDpcu, " streets " or " lanes. "

The real founder of coenobian (koivos, common, and /3£oj, life)
monasteries in the modern sense was Pachomius, an Egyptian of
the beginning of the 4th century. The first community estab-
lished by him was at Tabennae, an island of the Nile in Upper
Egypt. Eight others were founded in his lifetime, numbering
3000 monks. Within fifty years from his death his societies
could reckon 50,000 members. These coencbia resembled vil-
lages, peopled by a hard-working religious community, all of one
sex. The buildings were detached, small and of the humblest
character. Each cell or hut, according to Sozomen (H.E. iii. 14),
contained three monks. They took their chief meal in a common
refectory at 3 p.m., up to which hour they usually fasted. They
ate in silence, with hoods so drawn over their faces that they
could see nothing but what was on the table before them. The
monks spent all the time, not devoted to religious services or
study, in manual labour. Palladius, who visited the Egyptian
monasteries about the close of the 4th century, found among the
300 members of the coenobium of Panopolis, under the Pacho-
mian rule, 15 tailors, 7 smiths, 4 carpenters, 12 camel-drivers
and 15 tanners. Each separate community had its own oeconomus
or steward, who was subject to a chief oeconomus stationed at
the head establishment. All the produce of the monks' labour
was committed to him, and by him shipped to Alexandria. The
money raised by the sale was expended in the purchase of stores
for the support of the communities, and what was over was
devoted to charity. Twice in the year the superiors of the
several coenobia met at the chief monastery, under the presidency
of an archimandrite (" the chief of the fold," from n&v8pa, a fold),
and at the last meeting gave in reports of their administration
for the year. The coenobia of Syria belonged to the Pachomian
institution. We learn many details concerning those in the
vicinity of Antioch from Chrysostom's writings. The monks
lived in separate huts, KaXfyJia, forming a religious hamlet on the
mountain side. They were subject to an abbot, and observed a
common rule. (They had no refectory, but ate their common
meal, of bread and water only, when the day's labour was over,
reclining on strewn grass, sometimes out of doors.) Four times in
the day they joined in prayers and psalms.

The necessity for defence from hostile attacks, economy of
space and convenience of access from one part of the community
to another, by degrees dictated a more compact and orderly
arrangement of the buildings of a monastic coenobium. Large
piles of building were erected, with strong outside walls, capable
of resisting the assaults of an enemy, within which all the neccs-
Saata sary edifices were ranged round one or more open
Laura, courts, usually surrounded with cloisters. The usual
Eastern arrangement is exemplified in the plan of the
convent of Santa Laura, Mount Athos {Laura, the
designation of a monastery generally, being converted into a
female saint).

This monastery, like the oriental monasteries generally, is
surrounded by a strong and lofty blank stone wall, enclosing an

Mount
Athos.

area of between 3 and 4 acres. The longer side extends to a
length of about 500 feet. There is only one main entrance, on
the north side (A), defended by three separate iron doors. Near
the entrance is a large tower (M), a constant feature in the
monasteries of the Levant. There is a small postern gate at L.
The enceinte comprises two large open courts, surrounded with
buildings connected with cloister galleries of wood or stone. The
outer court, which is much the larger, contains the granaries and
storehouses (K), and the kitchen (H) and other offices connected
with the refectory (G). Immediately adjacent to the gateway is a
two-storied guest-house, opening from a cloister (C). The inner
court is surroutwed by a cloister (EE), from which open the
monks' cells (II) . In the centre of this court stands the catholicon
or conventual church, a square building with an apse of the cruci-
form domical Byzantine type, approached by a domed narthex.
In front of the church stands a marble fountain (F), covered by a
dome supported on columns. Opening from the western side of
the cloister, but actually standing in the outer court, is the refec-
tory (G), a large cruciform building, about 100 feet each way,
decorated within with frescoes of saints. At the upper end is a
semicircular recess, recalling the triclinium of the Latcran Palace

A. Gateway.

B. Chapels.

C. Guest-house.

D. Church.

E. Cloister.

F. Fountain.

G. Refectory.
H. Kitchen.
I. Cells.

K. Storehouses.

L. Postern gate.
M. Tower.

Fig. 1. — Monastery of Santa Laura, Mount Athos (Lenoir).

at Rome, in which is placed the scat of the hegumenos or abbot.
This apartment is chiefly used as a hall of meeting, the oriental
monks usually taking their meals in their separate cells. St
Laura is exceeded in magnitude by the convent of Vato-
pede, also on Mount Athos. This enormous establish- * ope "'
ment covers at least 4 acres of ground, and contains so many
separate buildings within its massive walls that it resembles
a fortified town. It lodges above 300 monks, and the establish-
ment of the hegumenos is described as resembling the court of a
petty sovereign prince. The immense refectory, of the same
cruciform shape as that of St Laura, will accommodate 500
guests at its 24 marble tables.

The annexed plan of a Coptic monastery, from Lenoir, shows
a church of three aisles, with cellular apses, and two ranges of
cells on either side of an oblong gallery.

Monasticism in the West owes its extension and develop-
ment to Benedict of Nursia (born a.d. 480). His rule was
diffused with miraculous rapidity from the parent foundation
on Monte Cassino through the whole of western Europe, and
every country witnessed the erection of monasteries far exceed-
ing anything that had yet been seen in spaciousness and
splendour. Few great towns in Italy were without their Bene-'
dictine convent, and they quickly rose in all the great centres
of population in England, France and Spain. The number
of these monasteries founded between a.d. 520 and 700 is

ABBEY

SI Oall.

Fig. 2. — Plan of Coptic Monastery.
A. Narthex. B. Church.

C. Corridor, with cells on each side.

D. Staircase.

amazing. Before the Council of Constance, a.d. 1415, no
fewer than 15,070 abbeys had been established of this order
alone. The buildings of a Benedictine abbey were
dictint. uniformly arranged after one plan, modified where
necessary (as at Durham and Worcester, where the
monasteries istand close to the steep bank of a river) to
accommodate the arrangement to local circumstances. Wc
have no existing examples of the earlier monasteries of the
Benedictine order. They have all yielded to the ravages of time
and the violence of man. But we have fortunately preserved to
us an elaborate plan of the great Swiss monastery of
St Gall, erected about a.d. 820, which puts us in pos-
session of the whole arrangements of a monastery of the first
class towards the early part of the 9th century. This curious and

interesting plan has been
made the subject of a
memoir both by Keller
(Zurich, 1844) and by Pro-
fessor Robert Willis {Arch.
Journal, 1848, vol. v. pp.
86-117. To the latter we
arc indebted for the sub-
stance of the following de-
scription, as well as for the
plan, reduced from his
elucidated transcript of the
original preserved in the
archives of the convent.
The general appearance of
the convent is that of a
town of isolated houses with
streets running between them. It is evidently planned in com-
pliance with the Benedictine rule, which enjoined that, if possible,
the monastery should contain within itself every necessary of life,
as well as the buildings more intimately connected with the
religious and social life of its inmates. It should comprise a mill,
a bakehouse, stables and cow-houses, together with accommoda-
tion for carrying on all necessary mechanical arts within the
walls, so as to obviate the necessity of the monks going outside
its limits.

The general distribution of the buildings may be thus described : —
The church, with its cloister to the south, occupies the centre of a
quadrangular area, about 430 feet square. The buildings, as in all
great monasteries, are distnbuted into groups. The church forms
the nucleus, as the centre of the religious life of the community.
In closest connexion with the church is the group of buildings
appropriated to the monastic life and its daily requirements — the
refectory for eating, the dormitory for sleeping, the common room
for social intercourse, the chapter-house for religious and disciplinary
conference. _ These essential elements of monastic life are ranged
about a cloister court, surrounded by a covered arcade, affording
communication sheltered from the elements between the various
buildings. The infirmary for sick monks, with the physician's house
and physic garden, lies to the east. In the same group with the in-
firmary is the school for the novices. The outer school, with its head-
master's house against the opposite wall of the church, stands outside
the convent enclosure, in close proximity to the abbot's house, that
he might have a constant eye over them. The buildings devoted to
hospitality are divided into three groups, — one for the reception of
distinguished guests, another for monks visiting the monastery, a
third For poor travellers and pilgrims. The first and third are placed
to the right andleft of the common entrance of the monastery, — the
hospitium for distinguished guests being placed on the north side of
the church, not far from the abbot's house; that for the poor on the
south side next to the farm buildings. The monks are lodged in a
guest-house built against the north wall of the church. The group of
buildings connected with the material wants of the establishment is
placed to the south and west of the church, and is distinctly separated
From the monastic buildings. The kitchen, buttery and offices are
reached by a passage from the west end of the refectory, and are con-
nected with the bakehouse and brewhouse, which are placed still
farther away. The whole of the southern and western sides is devoted
to workshops, stables and farm-buildings. The buildings, with some
exceptions, seem to have been of one story only, and all but the
church were probably erected of wood. The whole includes thirty-
three separate blocks. The church (D) is cruciform, with a nave of
nine bays, and a semicircular apse at either extremity. That to the
west is surrounded by a semicircular colonnade, leaving an open
" paradise " (E) between it and the wall of the church. The whole

area is divided by screens into various chapels. The high altar (A)
stands immediately to the east of the transept, or ritual choir; the
altar of St Paul (B) in the eastern, and that of St Peter (C) in the
western apse. A cylindrical campanile stands detached from the
church on either side of the western apse (FF).

The " cloister court " (G) on the south side of the nave of the

Q h

Fig. 3. — Ground-plan of St Gall.

U. House for blood-letting.
V. School.

W. Schoolmaster's lodgings.
X1X1. Guest-house for those of

superior rank.
X2X1. Guest-house for the poor.
Y. Guest-chamber for strange

monks.

Menial Department.

Z. Factory.

a. Threshing-floor.

b. Workshops.

c. c. Mills.

d. Kiln.

e. Stables.
/. Cow-sheds.

f Goat-sheds.
Pig-sties, i. Sheep-folds.
k, k, k. Servants' and workmen's

sleeping-chambers.
/. Gardener s house.
m, m. Hen and duck house.
n. Poultry-keeper's house.
0. Garden.

p. Cemetery. [bread.

R. Infirmary — 1-6 as above in q. Bakehouse for sacramental

r. Unnamed in plan.
S. Doctor's house. s, s, s. Kitchens.

T. Physic garden. t, t, t. Baths.

church has on its east side the " pisalis " or " calefactory " (H), the
common sitting-room of the brethren, warmed by flues beneath the
floor. On this side in later monasteries we invariably find the chapter-
house, the absence of which in this plan is somewhat surprising. It
appears, however, from the inscriptions on the plan itself, that the
north walk of the cloisters served for the purposes of a chapter-house,
and was fitted up with benches on the long sides. Above the calefac-
tory is the " dormitory " opening into the south transept of the
church, to enable the monks to attend the nocturnal services with

A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
FF.

G.
H.

K.
L.

M.
N.
O.
Pi.
P..

Church.
High altar.
Altar of St Paul.
Altar of St Peter.
Nave.
Paradise.
Towers.

Monastic Buildings.

Cloister.

Calefactory, with dormitory
over.

Necessary.

Abbot's house.

Refectory.

Kitchen.

Bakehouse and brewhouse.

Cellar.

Parlour. [over.

Scriptorium with library

Sacristy and vestry.

House of Novices — I .chapel ;
2. refectory; 3. calefac-
tory; 4. dormitory; 5.
master's room; 6. cham-
bers.

Infirmary — 1-6 as above in
the house of novices.

Doctor's house.

Physic garden.

ABBEY

readiness. A passage at the other end leads to the " necessarium " (I) ,
a portion of the monastic buildings always planned with extreme
care. The southern side is occupied by the " refectory " (K), from
the west end of which by a vestibule the kitchen (L) is reached. This
is separated from the main buildings of the monastery, and is con-
nected by a long passage with a building containing thebakehouseand
brewhouse (M), and the slecping-rooms^of the servants.^ The upper
story of the refectory is the " vestiarium," where the ordinary clothes
of the brethren were kept. On the western side of the cloister is an-
other two-story building (N). The cellar is below, and the larder and
store-room above. Between this building and the church, opening by
one door into the cloisters, and by another to the outer part of the
monastery area, is the " parlour for interviews with visitors from
the external world (O). On the eastern side of the north transept is
the " scriptorium " or writing-room (Pi), with the library above.

To the east of the church stands a group of buildings comprising
two miniature conventual establishments, each complete in itself.
Each has a covered cloister surrounded by the usual buildings, i.e.
refectory, dormitory, &c, and a church or chapel on one side, placed
back to back. A detached building belonging to each contains a bath
and a kitchen. One of these diminutive convents is appropriated to
the " oblati " or novices (Q), the other to the sick monks as an
" infirmary " (R).

The " residence of the physicians " (S) stands contiguous to the
infirmary, and the physic garden (T) at the north-east corner of the
monastery. Besides other rooms, it contains a drug store, and a
chamber for those who are dangerously ill. The " house for blood-
letting and purging " adjoins it on the west (U).

The " outer school," to the north of the convent area, contains a
large schoolroom divided across the middle by a screen or partition,
and surrounded by fourteen little rooms, termed the dwellings of the
scholars. The head-master's house (W) is opposite, built against the
side wall of the church. The two " hospitia " or " guest-houses " for
the entertainment of strangers of different degrees (Xj Xj) comprise
a large common chamber or refectory in the centre, surrounded by
sleeping-apartments. Each is provided with its own brewhouse and
bakehouse, and that for travellers of a superior order has a kitchen
and storeroom, with bedrooms for their servants and stables for their
horses. There is also an " hospitium " for strange monks, abutting
on the north wall of the church (Y).

Beyond the cloister, at the extreme verge of the convent area to
the south, stands the " factory " (Z), containing workshops for shoe-
makers, saddlers (or shoemakers, sellarii), cutlers and grinders,
trencher-makers, tanners, curriers, fullers, smiths and goldsmiths,
with their dwellings in the rear. On this side we also find the farm-
buildings, the large granary and threshing-floor (a), mills (c), malt-
house (d). Facing the west are the stables (e), ox-sheds (/), goat-
stables (g), piggeries (ft), sheep-folds (»), together with the servants'
and labourers quarters (£). At the south-east corner we find the hen
and duck house, and poultry-yard («j), and the dwelling of the
keeper (n). Hard by is the kitchen garden (o), the beds bearing the
names of the vegetables growing in them, onions, garlic, celery,
lettuces, poppy, carrots, cabbages, &c, eighteen in all. In the same
way the physic garden presents the names of the medicinal herbs,
and the cemetery (p) those of the trees, apple, pear, plum, quince,
&c, planted there.

A curious bird's-eye view of Canterbury Cathedral and its an-
nexed conventual buildings, taken about 1165, is preserved in the
Great Psalter in the library of Trinity College, Cam-
bmy*' bridge. As elucidated by Professor Willis, 1 it exhibits
Cathedral, the plan of a great Benedictine monastery in the 12th
century, and enables us to compare it with that of the
9th as seen at St Gall. We see in both the same general principles
of arrangement, which indeed belong to all Eenedictine monas-
teries, enabling us to determine with precision the disposition of
the various buildings, when little more than fragments of the
walls exist. From some local reasons, however, the cloister and
monastic buildings are placed on the north, instead, as is far more
commonly the case, on the south of the church. There is also a
separate chapter-house, which is wanting at St Gall.

The buildings at Canterbury, as at St Gall, form separate
groups. The church forms the nucleus. In immediate contact
with this, on the north side, lie the cloister and the group of
buildings devoted to the monastic life. Outside of these, to the
west and east, are the "halls and chambers devoted to the
exercise of hospitality, with which every monastery was pro-
vided, for the purpose of receiving as guests persons who visited
it, whether clergy or laity, travellers, pilgrims or paupers." To .
the north a large open court divides the monastic from the menial
buildings, intentionally placed as remote as possible from the

1 The Architectural History of the Conventual Buildings of the
Monastery of Christ Church in Canterbury. By the Rev. Robert Willis.
Printed for the Kent Archaeological Society, 1869.

conventual buildings proper, the stables, granaries, barn, bake-
house, brewhouse, laundries, &c, inhabited by the lay servants of
the establishment. At the greatest possible distance from the
church, beyond the precinct of the convent, is the eleemosynary
department. The almonry for the relief of the poor, with a great
hall annexed, forms the paupers' hospitium.

The most important group of buildings is naturally that de-
voted to monastic life. This includes two cloisters, the great
cloister surrounded by the buildings essentially connected with
the daily life of the monks, — the church to the south, the refectory
or frater-house here as always on the side opposite to the church,
and farthest removed from it, that no sound or smell of eating
might penetrate its sacred precincts, to the east the dormitory,
raised on a vaulted undercroft, and the chapter-house adjacent,
and the lodgings of the cellarer to the west. To this officer was
committed the provision of the monks' daily food, as well as that
of the guests. He was, therefore, appropriately lodged in the
immediate vicinity of the refectory and kitchen, and close to the
guest-hall. A passage under the dormitory leads eastwards to the
smaller or infirmary cloister, appropriated to the sick and infirm
monks. Eastward of this cloister extend the hall and chapel of
the infirmary, resembling in form and arrangement the nave and
chancel of an aisled church. Beneath the dormitory, looking out
into the green court or herbarium, lies the " pisalis " or " cale-
factory," the common room of the monks. At its north-east
corner access was given from the dormitory to the necessarium, a
portentous edifice in the form of a Norman hall, 145 ft. long by
25 broad, containing fifty-five seats. It was, in common with all
such offices in ancient monasteries, constructed with the most
careful regard to cleanliness and health, a stream of water running
through it from end to end. A second smaller dormitory runs
from east to west for the accommodation of the conventual
officers, who were bound to sleep in the dormitory. Close to the
refectory, but outside the cloisters, are the domestic offices con-
nected with it: to the north, the kitchen, 47 ft. square, sur-
mounted by a lofty pyramidal roof, and the kitchen court; to
the west, the butteries, pantries, &c. The infirmary had a small
kitchen of its own. Opposite the refectory door in the cloister are
two lavatories, an invariable adjunct to a monastic dining-hall,
at which the monks washed before and after taking food.

The buildings devoted to hospitality were divided into three
groups. The prior's group " entered at the south-east angle of
the green court, placed near the most sacred part of the cathedral,
as befitting the distinguished ecclesiastics or nobility who were
assigned to him." The cellarer's buildings were near the west end
of the nave, in which ordinary visitors of the middle class were
hospitably entertained. The inferior pilgrims and paupers were
relegated to the north hall or almonry, just within the gate, as
far as possible from the other two.

Westminster Abbey is another example of a great Benedictine
abbey, identical in its general arrangements, so far as they can be
traced, with those described above. The cloister and
monastic buildings lie to the south side of the church. miasier
Parallel to the nave, on the south side of the cloister, Abbey.
was the refectory, with its lavatory at the door. On the
eastern side we find the remains of the dormitory, raised on a
vaulted substructure and communicating with the south transept.
The chapter-house opens out of the same alley of the cloister. The
small cloister lies to the south-east of the larger cloister, and still
farther to the east we have the remains of the infirmary with the
table hall, the refectory of those who were able to leave their
chambers. The abbot's house formed a small courtyard at the
west entrance, close to the inner gateway. Considerable portions
of this remain, including the abbot's parlour, celebrated as " the
Jerusalem Chamber," his hall, now used for the Westminster
King's Scholars, and the kitchen and butteries beyond.

St Mary's Abbey, York, of which the ground-plan is annexed,
exhibits the usual Benedictine arrangements. The precincts
are surrounded by a strong fortified wall on three York

sides, the river Ouse being sufficient protection on the
fourth side. The entrance was by a strong gateway (U) to the
north. Close to the entrance was a chapel, where is now the

ABBEY

r 5

church of St Olaf (W), in which the new-comers paid their devo-
tions immediately on their arrival. Near the gate to the south
was the guest-hall or hospitium (T). The buildings are com-
pletely ruined, but enough remains to enable us to identify the
grand cruciform church (A), the cloister-court with the chapter-
house (B), the refectory (I), the kitchen-court with its offices
(K, O, O) and the other principal apartments. The infirmary
has perished completely.

Some Benedictine houses display exceptional arrangements,
dependent upon local circumstances, e.g. the dormitory of
Worcester runs from east to west, from the west walk of the
cloister, and that of Durham is built over the west, instead of

Fig

St Mary's Abbey, York (Benedictine).-

— Churton's Monastic Ruins

Church.

Offices.

Chapter-house.

Cellars.

Vestibule to ditto.

Q-

Uncertain.

Library or scriptorium.

Passage to abbot's house.

Calefactory.

Passage to common house

Necessary.

Hospitium.

Parlour.

Great gate.

Refectory.

Porter's lodge.

Great kitchen and court

Church of St Olaf.

Cellarer's office.

Tower.

Cellars.

Entrance from Bootham.

Passage to cloister.

as usual, over the east walk; but, as a general rule, the arrange-
ments deduced from the examples described may be regarded
as invariable.

The history of monasticism is one of alternate periods of decay
and revival. With growth in popular esteem came increase in
material wealth, leading to luxury and worldliness. The first
religious ardour cooled, the strictness of the rule was relaxed,
until by the ioth century the decay of discipline was so complete
in France that the monks are said to have been frequently un-
acquainted with the rule of St Benedict, and even ignorant that
they were bound by any rule at all. The reformation of abuses
generally took the form of the establishment of new monastic
orders, with new and more stringent rules, requiring a modifica-
tion of the architectural arrangements. One of the earliest of

these reformed orders was the Cluniac. This order took its
name from the little village of Cluny, 12 miles N.W. of MAcon,
near which, about a.d. 909, a reformed Benedictine ciuay
abbey was founded by William, duke of Aquitaine
and count of Auvergne, under Berno, abbot of Beaume. He was
succeeded by Odo, who is often regarded as the founder of the
order. The fame of Cluny spread far and wide. Its rigid rule
was adopted by a vast number of the old Benedictine abbeys,
who placed themselves in affiliation to the mother society, while
new foundations sprang up in large numbers, all owing allegiance
to the " archabbot," established at Cluny. By the end of the
1 2th century the number of monasteries affiliated to Cluny in
the various countries of western Europe amounted to 2000.
The monastic establishment of Cluny was one of the most
extensive and magnificent in France. We may form some idea
of its enormous dimensions from the fact recorded, that when,
a.d. 1245, Pope Innocent IV., accompanied by twelve cardinals,

Fig

A. Gateway.

B. Narthex.

C. Choir.

D. High-altar.

E. Retro-altar.

5. — Abbey of Cluny, from Viollet-le-Duc.

F. Tomb of St Hugh.

G. Nave. •
H. Cloister.

K. Abbot's house.
L. Guest-house.

M. Bakehouse.
N. Abbey buildings.
O. Garden.
P. Refectory.

a patriarch, three archbishops, the two generals of the Carthu-
sians and Cistercians, the king (St Louis), and three of his sons,
the queen mother, Baldwin, count of Flanders and emperor of
Constantinople, the duke of Burgundy, and six lords, visited the
abbey, the whole party, with their attendants, were lodged within
the monastery without disarranging the monks, 400 in number.
Nearly the whole of the abbey buildings, including the magnificent
church, were swept away at the close of the 18th century. When
the annexed ground-plan was taken, shortly before its destruc-
tion, nearly all the monastery, with the exception of the church,
had been rebuilt.

The church, the ground-plan of which bears a remarkable resem-
blance to that of Lincoln Cathedral, was of vast dimensions. It was
656 ft. by 130 ft. wide. The nave was 102 ft. and the aisles 60
ft ; high. The nave (G) had double vaulted aisles on either side.
Like Lincoln, it had an eastern as well as a western transept, each
furnished with apsidal chapels to the east. The western transept
was 213 it. long, and the eastern 123 ft. The choir terminated
in a semicircular apse (F), surrounded by five chapels, also semi-
circular. The western entrance was approached by an ante-church,
or narthex (B), itsejf an aisled church of no mean dimensions, flanked
by two towers, rising from a stately flight of steps bearing a large
stone cross. To the south of the church lay the cloister-court (H), of
immense size, placed much farther to the west than is usually the

ABBEY

case. On the south side of the cloister stood the refectory (P), an
immense building, too ft. long and 60 ft. wide, accommodating
six longitudinal and three transverse rows of tables. It was adorned
with the portraits of the chief benefactors of the abbey, and with
Scriptural subjects. The end wall displayed the Last Judgment. We
are unhappily unable to identify any other of the principal buildings
(N). The abbot's residence (K), still partly standing, adjoined the
entrance-gate. The guest-house (L) was close by. The bakehouse
(M), also remaining, is a detached building of immense size.

The first English house of the Cluniac order was that of Lewes,
founded by the earl of Warren, c. a.d. 1077. Of this only a few

fragments of the domestic buildings exist. The best
Cluniac. preserved Cluniac houses in England are Castle Acre,

Norfolk, and Wenlock, Shropshire. Ground-plans
of both are given in Britton's Architectural Antiquities. They
show several departures from the Benedictine arrangement.
In each the prior's house is remarkably perfect. All Cluniac
houses in England were French colonies, governed by priors
of that nation. They did not secure their independence nor
become " abbeys " till the reign of Henry VI. The Cluniac
revival, with all its brilliancy, was but short-lived. The celeb-
rity of this, as of other orders, worked its moral ruin. With
their growth in wealth and dignity the Cluniac foundations
became as worldly in life and as relaxed in discipline as their
predecessors, and a fresh reform was needed.

The next great monastic revival, the Cistercian, arising in
the last years of the nth century, had a wider diffusion, and a
Cistercian l° n g er an d more honourable existence. Owing its real

origin, as a distinct foundation of reformed Benedic-
tines, in the year 1098, to Stephen Harding (a native of Dorset-
shire, educated in the monastery of Sherborne), and deriving its
name from Citeaux (Cistercium) , a desolate and almost inacces-
sible forest solitude, on the borders of Champagne and Bur-
gundy, the rapid growth and wide celebrity of the order are
undoubtedly to be attributed to the enthusiastic piety of St
Bernard, abbot of the first of the monastic colonies, subsequently
sent forth in such quick succession by the first Cistercian houses,
the far-famed abbey of Clairvaux (de Clara Valle), a.d. 1116.
The rigid self-abnegation, which was the ruling principle of this
reformed congregation of the Benedictine order, extended itself
to the churches and other buildings . erected by them. The
characteristic of the Cistercian abbeys was the extremest sim-
plicity and a studied plainness. Only one tower — a central one
— was permitted, and that was to be very low. Unnecessary
pinnacles and turrets were prohibited. The triforium was
omitted. The windows were to be plain and undivided, and it
was forbidden to decorate them with stained glass. All needless
ornament was proscribed. The crosses must be of wood; the
candlesticks of iron. The renunciation of the world was to be
evidenced in all that met the eye. The same spirit manifested
itself in the choice of the sites of their monasteries. The more
dismal, the more savage, the more hopeless a spot appeared,
the more did it please their rigid mood. But they came not
merely as ascetics, but as improvers. The Cistercian monas-
teries are, as a rule, found placed in deep well-watered valleys.
They always stand on the border of a stream; not rarely, as at
Fountains, the buildings extend over it. These valleys, now so
rich and productive, wore a very different aspect when the
brethren first chose them as the place of their retirement. Wide
swamps, deep morasses, tangled thickets, wild impassable
forests, were their prevailing features. The " bright valley,"
Clara Vallis of St Bernard, was known as the " valley of Worm-
wood," infamous as a den of robbers. " It was a savage dreary
solitude, so utterly barren that at first Bernard and his com-
panions were reduced to live on beech leaves." — (Milman's Lat.
Christ, vol. iii. p. 335.)

All Cistercian monasteries, unless the circumstances of the
locality forbade it, were arranged according to one plan. The
Clairvaux. S enera l arrangement and distribution of the various

buildings, which went to make up one of these vast
establishments, may be gathered from that of St Bernard's own
abbey of Clairvaux, which is here given. It will be observed
that the abbey precincts are surrounded by a strong wall, fur-

nished at intervals with watch-towers and other defensive works.
The wall is nearly encircled by a stream of water, artificially
diverted from the small rivulets which flow through the precincts,
furnishing the establishment with an abundant supply in every
part, for the irrigation of the gardens and orchards, the sanitary
requirements of the brotherhood and for the use of the offices
and workshops.

The precincts are divided across the centre by a wall, running from
N. to S., into an outer and inner ward, — the former containing
the menial, the latter the monastic buildings. The precincts are
entered by a gateway (P), at the extreme western extremity, giving
admission to the lower ward. Here the barns, granaries, stables,
shambles, workshops and workmen's lodgings were placed, without
any regard to symmetry, convenience being the only consideration.
Advancing eastwards, we have before us the wall separating the

Fig. 6. — Clairvaux, No. 1 (Cistercian), General Plan.

Cloisters.

Wine-press and

Public presse.

Ovens, and corn

hay-chamber.

Gateway.

and oil mills.

Parlour.

Remains of

St Bernard's cell.

Workshops and

monastery.

1).

Chief entrance.

workmen's lodg-

Oratory.

Tanks for fish.

ings.

Tile-works.

Guest-house.

Slaughter-house.

Tile-kiln.

Abbot's house.

Barnsandstables.

Water-courses

Stables.

old

outer and inner ward, and the gatehouse (D) affording communica-
tion between the two. On passing through the gateway, the outer
court of the inner ward was entered, with the western facade of the
monastic church in front. Immediately on the right of entrance was
the abbot's house (G), in close proximity to the guest-house (F). ' On
the other side of the court were the stables, for the accommodation
of the horses of the guests and their attendants (H). The church
occupied a central position. To the south was the great cloister (A),
surrounded by the chief monastic buildings, and farther to the east
the smaller cloister, opening out of which were the infirmary, novices'
lodgings and quarters for the aged monks. Still farther to the east,
divided from the monastic buildings by a wall, were the vegetable
gardens and orchards, and tank for fish. The large fish-ponds, an
indispensable adjunct to any ecclesiastical foundation, on the for-
mation of which the monks lavished extreme care and pains, and
which often remain as almost the only visible traces of these vast
establishments, were placed outside the abbey walls.

Plan No. 2 furnishes the ichnography of the distinctly monastic
buildings on a larger scale. The usually unvarying arrangement of
the Cistercian houses allows us to accept this as a type of the monas-
teries of this order. The church (A) is the chief feature. It consists

ABBEY

of a vast nave of eleven bays, entered by a narthex, with a transept
and short apsidal choir. (It may be remarked that the eastern limb
in all unaltered Cistercian churches is remarkably short, and usually
square.) To the east of each limb of the transept are two square
chapels, divided according to Cistercian rule by solid walls. Nine
radiating chapels, similarly divided, surround the apse. The stalls
of the monks, forming the ritual choir, occupy the four eastern bays
of the nave. There was a second range of stalls in the extreme
western bays of the nave for the fratres conversi, or lay brothers. To
the south of the church, so as to secure as much sun as possible,
the cloister was invariably placed, except when local reasons forbade
it. Round the cloister (B) were ranged the buildings connected with
the monks' daily life. The chapter-house (C) always opened out of
the east walk of the cloister in a line with the south transept. In

Fig. 7. — Clairvaux

A. Church.

B. Cloister.

C. Chapter-house.

D. Monks' parlour.

E. Calefactory.

F. Kitchen and court.

G. Refectory.
H. Cemetery.

I. Little cloister.
K. Infirmary.

No. 2 (Cistercian) ,
L. Lodgings of nov

ices.
M. Old guest-house.
N. Old abbot's lodg-
ings.
Cloister of super-
numerary
monks.
Abbot's hall.
Cell of St Bernard
Stables.

Monastic Buildings.
S. Cellars and store-
houses.

Water-course.

Saw-mill and oil-
mill.

Currier's work-
shop.

Sacristy.

Little library.

Undercroft of dor-
mitory.

T.
U.

X.
Y.
Z.

Cistercian houses this was quadrangular, and was divided by pillars
and arches into two or three aisles. Between it and the transept we
find the sacristy (X), and a small book-room (Y), armariolum, where
the brothers deposited the volumes borrowed from the library. On.
the other side of the chapter-house, to the south, is a passage (D)
communicating with the courts and buildings beyond. This was
sometimes known as the parlour, colloquii locus, the monks having the
privilege of conversation here. Here also, when discipline became
relaxed, traders, who had the liberty of admission, were allowed to
display their goods. Beyond this we often find the calefactorium or
day-room — an apartment warmed by flues beneath the pavement,
where the brethren, half frozen during the night offices, betook them-
selves after the conclusion of lauds, to gain a little warmth, grease
their sandals and get themselves ready for the work of the day. In
the plan before us this apartment (E) opens from the south cloister
walk, adjoining the refectory. The place usually assigned to it is
occupied by the vaulted substructure of the dormitory (Z). The dormi-

tory, as a rule; was placed on the east side of the cloister, running
over the calefactory and chapter-house, and joined the south transept,
where a flight of steps admitted the brethren into the church for
nocturnal services. Opening out of the dormitory was always the
necessarium, planned with the greatest regard to health and cleanli-
ness, a water-course invariably running from end to end. The re-
fectory opens out of the south cloister at G. The position of the
refectory is usually a marked point of difference between Benedictine
and Cistercian abbeys. In the former, as at Canterbury, the refec-
tory ran east and west parallel to the nave of the church, on the side
of the cloister farthest removed from it. In the Cistercian monas-
teries, to keep the noise and smell of dinner still farther away from
the sacred building, the refectory was built north and south, at right
angles to the axis of the church. It was often divided, sometimes
into two, sometimes, as here, into three aisles. Outside the refectory
door, in the cloister, was the lavatory, where the monks washed their
hands at dinner-time. The buildings belonging to the material life
of the monks lay near the refectory, as far as possible from the church ,
to the S.W. With a distinct entrance from the outer court was the
kitchen court (F), with its buttery, scullery and larder, and the im-
portant adjunct of a stream of running water. Farther to the west,
projecting beyond the line of the west front of the church, were vast
vaulted apartments(SS), serving as cellars and storehouses, above
which was the dormitory of the conversi. Detached from these, and
separated entirely from the monastic buildings, were various work-
shops, which convenience required to be banished to the outer pre-
cincts, a saw-mill and oil-mill (UU) turned by water, and a currier's
shop (V), where the sandals and leathern girdles of the monks were
made and repaired.

Returning to the cloister, a vaulted passage admitted to the small
cloister (I), opening from the north side of which were eight small
cells, assigned to the scribes employed in copying works for the
library, which was placed in the upper story, accessible by a turret
staircase. To the south of the small cloister a long hall will be noticed.
This was a lecture-hall, or rather a hall for the religious disputations
customary among the Cistercians. From this cloister opened the
infirmary (K), with its hall, chapel, cells, blood-letting house and
other dependencies. At the eastern verge of the vast group of build-
ings we find the novices' lodgings (L), with a third cloister near the
novices' quarters and the original guest-house (M). Detached from
the great mass of the monastic edifices was the original abbot's house
(N),with its dinine-hall (P). Closely adjoining to this, so that the eye
of the father of the whole establishment should be constantly over
those who stood the most in need of his watchful care, — those who
were training for the monastic life, and those who had worn them-
selves out in its duties, — was a fourth cloister (O), with annexed
buildings, devoted to the aged and infirm members of the establish-
ment. The cemetery, the last resting-place of the brethren, lay to
the north side of the nave of the church (H).

It will be seen from the above account that the arrangement
of a Cistercian monastery was in accordance with a clearly
defined system, and admirably adapted to its purpose. The base
court nearest to the outer wall contained the buildings belonging
to the functions of the body as agriculturists and employers of
labour. Advancing into the inner court, the buildings devoted
to hospitality are found close to the entrance; while those
connected with the supply of the material wants of the brethren,
— the kitchen, cellars, &c, — form a court of themselves outside
the cloister and quite detached from the church. The church
refectory, dormitory and other buildings belonging to the pro-
fessional life of the brethren surround the great cloister. The
small cloister beyond, with its scribes' cells, library, hall for
disputations, &c, is the centre of the literary life of the com-
munity. The requirements of sickness and old age are carefully
provided for in the infirmary cloister and that for the aged and
infirm members of the establishment. The same group contains
the quarters of the novices.

This stereotyped arrangement is further shown by the illus-
tration of the mother establishmet of Citeaux.

A cross (A), planted on the high road, directs travellers to the gate
of the monastery, reached by_ an avenue of trees. On one side of the
gate-house (B) is a long building (C) , probably the almonry, ~.
with a dormitory above for the lower class of guests. On the ( '" eaax -
other side is a chapel(D). As soon as the porter heard a stranger knock
at the gate, he rose, saying, Deo gratias,the opportunity for the exercise
of hospitality being regarded as a cause for thankfulness. On opening
the door he welcomed the new arrival with a blessing — Benedicite.
He fell on his knees before him, and then went to inform the abbot.
However important the abbot's occupations might be, he at once
hastened to receive him whom heaven had sent. He also threw
himself at his guest's feet, and conducted him to the chapel (D) pur-
posely built close to the gate. After a short prayer, the abbot com-
mitted the guest to the care of the "brother hospitaller, whose duty it
was to provide for his wants and conduct the beast on which he

ABBEY

might be riding to the stable (F), built adjacent to the inner gate-
house (E). This inner gate conducted into the base court (T), round
which were placed the barns, stables, cow-sheds, &c. On the eastern
side stood the dormitory of the lay brothers, fratres conversi (G),
detached from the cloister, with cellars and storehouses below. At
H, also outside the monastic buildings proper, was the abbot's
house, and annexed to it the guest-house. For these buildings there
was a separate door of entrance into the church (S). The large
cloister, with its surrounding arcades, is seen at V. On the south end

Crojects the refectory (K), with its kitchen at I, accessible from the
ase court. The long gabled building on the east side of the cloister
contained on the ground floor the chapter-house and calefactory,
with the monks' dormitory above (M), communicating with the south
transept of the church. At L was the staircase to the dormitory.
The small cloister is at W, where were the carols or cells of the
scribes, with the library (P) over, reached by a turret staircase. At
R we see a portion of the infirmary. The whole precinct is sur-
rounded by a strong buttressed wall (XXX), pierced with arches,

Fig,

Cross.
Gate-house.
Almonry.
Chapel.

Inner gate-house.
Stable.

Dormitory of lay
brethren.

Bird's-eye view of Citeaux.

H. Abbot's house. .
I. Kitchen.
K. Refectory.
L. Staircase to dor-
mitory.
M. Dormitory.
N. Church.
P. Library.

R. Infirmary.

S. Doortothechurch
for the lay bro-
thers.

T. Base court.

V. Great cloister.

W. Small cloister.

X. Boundary wall.

through which streams of water are introduced. It will be noticed
that the choir of the church is short, and has a square end instead of
the usual apse. The tower, in accordance with the Cistercian rule,
is very low. The windows throughout accord with the studied
simplicity of the order.

The English Cistercian houses, of which there are such ex-
tensive and beautiful remains at Fountains, Ricvaulx, Kirkstall,
Tintern, Netley, &c, were mainly arranged after the same plan,
with slight local variations. As an example, we give the ground-
plan of Kirkstall Abbey, which is one of the best pre-
Abbey. served. The church here is of the Cistercian type,
with a short chancel of two squares, and transepts
with three eastward chapels to each, divided by solid walls
(2 2 2). The whole is of the most studied plainness. The
windows are unornamented, and the nave has no triforium.
The cloister to the south (4) occupies the whole length of the
nave. On the east side stands the two-aisled chapter-house (5),
between which and the south transept is a small sacristy (3),

and on the other side two small apartments, one of which was
probably the parlour (6). Beyond this stretches southward the
calefactory or day-room of the monks (14). Above this whole
range of building runs the monks' dormitory, opening by stairs
into the south transept of the church. At the other end were the
necessaries. On the south side of the cloister we have the re-
mains of the old refectory (11), running, as in Benedictine
houses, from east to west, and the new refectory (12), which,
with the increase of the inmates of the house, superseded it,
stretching, as is usual in Cistercian houses, from north to south.
Adjacent to this apartment are the remains of the kitchen,
pantry and buttery. The arches of the lavatory are to be seen
near the refectory entrance. The western side of the cloister is,
as usual, occupied by vaulted cellars, supporting on the upper
story the dormitory of the lay brothers (8). Extending from the

Fig. 9. — Kirkstall Abbey, Yorkshire (Cistercian).

Church.

Chapels.

Sacristy.

Cloister.

Chapter-house.

Parlour.

Punishment cell (?).

Cellars, with dormitories for

conversi over.
Guest-house.

10. Common room.

11. Old refectory.

12. New refectory.

13. Kitchen court.

14. Calefactory or day-room.

15. Kitchen and offices.
16-19. Uncertain ; perhaps offices

connected with the in-
firmary.
20. Infirmary or abbot's house.

south-east angle of the main group of buildings are the walls and
foundations of a secondary group of considerable extent. These
have been identified either with the hospitium or with the
abbot's house, but they, occupy the position in which the infir-
mary is more usually found. The hall was a very spacious apart-
ment, measuring 83 ft. in length by 48 ft. 9 in. in breadth,
and was divided by two rows of columns. The fish-ponds lay
between the monastery and the river to the south. The abbey
mill was situated about 80 yards to the north-west. The mill-
pool may be distinctly traced, together with the gowt or mill
stream.

Fountains Abbey, first founded a.d. 1132, is one of the largest
and best preserved Cistercian houses in England. But the
earlier buildings received considerable additions and
alterations in the later period of the order, causing ^bb ey .
deviations from the strict Cistercian type. The church
stands a short distance to the north of the river Skell, the

ABBEY

J 9

buildings of the abhey stretching down to and even across the
stream. We have the cloister (H) to the south, with the three-
aisled chapter-house (I) and calefactory (L) opening from its
eastern walk, and the refectory (S), with the kitchen (Q) and
buttery (T) attached, at right angles to its southern walk.

Fig. 10. — Ground-plan of Fountains Abbey, Yorkshire.

A. Naveofthcchurch.

B. Transept.

C. Chapels.

D. Tower.

E. Sacristy.

F. Choir.

G. Chapel of nine

altars.
H. Cloister.
I. Chapter-house.
K. Base court.
L. Calefactory.
M. Water-course.

N. Cellar.
O. Brewhouse.
P. Prisons.
Q. Kitchen.
R. Offices.
S. Refectory.
T. Buttery.
U. Cellars and store-
houses.
V. Necessary.
W. Infirmary (?).
X. Guest-houses.
Y. Mill bridge.

Z. Gate-house.
Abbot's House.

i. Passage.

2. Great hall.

3. Refectory.

4. Buttery.

5. Storehouse.

6. Chapel.

7. Kitchen.

8. Ashpit.

9. Yard.

10. Kitchen tank.

Parallel with the western walk is an immense vaulted sub-
structure (U), incorrectly styled the cloisters, serving as cellars
and store-rooms, and supporting the dormitory of the conversi
above. This building extended across the river. At its S.W.
corner were the necessaries (V), also built, as usual, above the
swiftly flowing stream. The monks' dormitory was in its usual

position above the chapter-house, to the south of the transept.
As peculiarities of arrangement may be noticed the position of
the kitchen (Q), between the refectory and calefactory, and of
the infirmary (W) (unless there is some error in its designation)
above the river to the west, adjoining the guest-houses (XX).
We may also call attention to the greatly lengthened choir,
commenced by Abbot John of York, 1203-12 n, and carried on
by his successor, terminating, like Durham Cathedral, in an
eastern transept, the work of Abbot John of Kent, 1220-1247,
and to the tower (D), added not long before the dissolution by
Abbot Huby, 1494-1326, in a very unusual position at the north-
ern end of the north transept. The abbot's house, the largest and
most remarkable example of this class of buildings in the king-
dom, stands south to the east of the church and cloister, from
which it is divided by the kitchen court (K), surrounded by the
ordinary domestic offices. A considerable portion of this house
was erected on arches over the Skell. The size and character of
this house, probably, at the time of its erection, the most spacious
house of a subject in the kingdom, not a castle, bespeaks the
wide departure of the Cistercian order from the stern simplicity
of the original foundation. The hall (2) was one of the most
spacious and magnificent apartments in medieval times, measur-
ing 170 ft. by 70 ft. Like the hall in the castle at Winchester,
and Westminster Hall, as originally built, it was divided by 18
pillars and arches, with 3 aisles. Among other apartments, for
the designation of which we must refer to the ground-plan, was
a domestic oratory or chapel, 465 ft. by 23 ft. and a kitchen
(7), 5° ft. by 38 ft. The whole arrangements and character of
the building bespeak the rich and powerful feudal lord, not the
humble father of a body of hard-working brethren, bound by
vows to a life of poverty and self-denying toil. In the words of
Dean Milman, " the superior, once a man bowed to the earth
with humility, care-worn, pale, emaciated, with a coarse habit
bound with a cord, with naked feet, had become an abbot on
his curvetting palfrey, in rich attire, with his silver cross before
him, travelling to take his place amid the lordliest of the realm."
— (Lat. Christ, vol. iii. p. 330.)

The buildings of the Austin canons or Black canons (so called
from the colour of their habit) present few distinctive peculiari-
ties. This order had its first seat in England at Col-
chester, where a house for Austin canons was founded
about a.d. 1 105, and it very soon spread widely. As
an order of regular clergy, holding a middle position between
monks and secular canons, almost resembling a community of
parish priests living under rule, they adopted naves of great
length to accommodate large congregations. The choir is
usually long, and is sometimes, as at Llanthony and Christ
Church (Twynham), shut off from the aisles, or, as at Bolton,
Kirkham, &c, is destitute of aisles altogether. The nave in the
northern houses, not unfrequently, had only a north aisle, as at
Bolton, Brinkburn and Lanercost. The arrangement of the
monastic buildings followed the ordinary type. The prior's
lodge was almost invariably attached to the S.W. angle of
the nave. The annexed plan of the Abbey of St
Augustine's at Bristol, now the cathedral church of Ca 4erfra/
that city, shows the arrangement of the buildings,
which departs very little from the ordinary Benedictine type.
The Austin canons' house at Thornton, in Lincolnshire, is re-
markable for the size and magnificence of its gate-house, the
upper floors of which formed the guest-house of the establish-
ment, and for possessing an octagonal chapter-house of Decorated
date.

The Premonslralensian regular canons, or White canons, had
as many as 35 houses in England, of which the most perfect
remaining are those of Easby, Yorkshire, and Bayham,
Kent. The head house of the order in England was tra ^° S '
Welbeck. This order was a reformed branch of the stans.
Austin canons, founded, a.d. 1119, by Norbert (born
at Xanten, on the Lower Rhine, c. 1080) at Premontre, a
secluded marshy valley in the forest of Coucy in the diocese
of Laon. The order spread widely. Even in the founder's
lifetime it possessed houses in Syria and Palestine. It long

Austin
Canons.

ABBEY

maintained its rigid austerity, till in the course of years wealth
impaired its discipline, and its members sank into indolence
and luxury. The Premonstratensians were brought to England
shortly after a.d. 1140, and were first settled at Newhouse, in
Lincolnshire, near the Humber. The ground-plan of Easby
Abbey, owing to its situation on the edge of the steeply sloping
banks of a river, is singularly irregular. The cloister is duly
placed on the south side of the church, and the chief buildings
occupy their usual positions round it. But the cloister garth, as
at Chichester, is not rectangular, and all the surrounding build-
ings are thus made to sprawl in a very awkward fashion. The
church follows the plan adopted by the Austin canons in their
northern abbeys, and has only one aisle to the nave — that to the
north; while the choir is long, narrow and aisleless. Each tran-
sept has an aisle to the east, forming three chapels.

The church at Bayham was destitute of aisles either to nave
or choir. The latter terminated in a three-sided apse. This
church is remarkable for its exceeding narrowness in proportion
to its length. Extending in longitudinal dimensions 257 ft., it is

Fig. 11. — St Augustine's Abbey, Bristol (Bristol Cathedral).

H. Kitchen.

1. Kitchen court.

K. Cellars.

L. Abbot's hall.

P. Abbot's gateway.

R. Infirmary.

S. Friars' lodging.
T. King's hall.
V. Guest-house.
W. Abbey gateway.
X. Barns, stables, &c.
Y. Lavatory.

A. Church.

B. Great cloister.

C. Little cloister.

D. Chapter-house.

E. Calefactory.

F. Refectory.

G. Parlour.

not more than 25 ft. broad. Stern Premonstratensian canons
wanted no congregations, and cared for no possessions; there-
fore they built their church like a long room.

The Carthusian order, on its establishment by St Bruno,
about a.d. 1084, developed a greatly modified form and arrange-
ment of a monastic institution. The principle of this
c " r ^ l " >m order, which combined the coenobitic with the solitary
life, demanded the erection of buildings on a novel
plan. This plan, which was first adopted by St Bruno and his
twelve companions at the original institution at Chartreux,
near Grenoble, was maintained in all the Carthusian establish-
ments throughout Europe, even after the ascetic severity of the
order had been to some extent relaxed, and the primitive sim-
plicity of their buildings had been exchanged for the magnifi-
cence of decoration which characterizes such foundations as the
Certosas of Pavia and Florence. According to the rule of St
Bruno, all the members of a Carthusian brotherhood lived in
the most absolute solitude and silence. Each occupied a small
detached cottage, standing by itself in a small garden surrounded
by high walls and connected by a common corridor or cloister.
In these cottages or cells a Carthusian monk passed his time in
the strictest asceticism, only leaving his solitary dwelling to
attend the services of the Church, except on certain days when
the brotherhood assembled in the refectory. The peculiarity of
the arrangements of a Carthusian monastery, or charter -house,
as it was called in England, from a corruption of the French
chartreux, is exhibited in the plan of that of Clermont, from
Viollet-le-Duc.

The whole establishment is surrounded by a wall, furnished at in-
tervals with watch towers(R). Theenclosureisdividedintotwocourts,
Clermont °f which the eastern court, surrounded by a cloister, from
which the cottages of the monks (I) open, is much thelarger.
The two courts are divided by the main buildings of the monastery,

including the church, the sanctuary (A), divided from B, the monks'
choir, by a screen with two altars, the smaller cloister to the south
(S) surrounded by the chapter-house (E), the refectory (X) — these
buildings occupying their normal position — and the chapel of
Pontgibaud (K). The kitchen with its offices (V) lies behind the re-
fectory, accessible from the outer court without entering the cloister.
To the north of the church, beyond the sacristy (L), and the side
chapels (M) , we find the cell of the sub-prior (a) , with its garden. The
lodgings of the prior (G) occupy the centre of the outer court, im-
mediately in front of the west door of the church, and face the gate-
way of the convent (O). A small raised court with a fountain (C) is
before it. This outer court also contains the guest-chambers (P), the
stables and lodgings of the lay brothers (N), the barns and granaries
(Q), the dovecot (H) and the bakehouse (T). _ At Z is the prison.
(In this outer court, in all the earlier foundations, as at Witham,
there was a smaller church in addition to the larger church of the
monks.) The outer and inner courts are connected by a long passage
(F), wide enough to admit a cart laden with wood to supply the cells
of the brethren with fuel. The number of cells surrounding the great

A. Church.

B. Monks' choir.

C. Prior's garden.

D. Great cloister.

E. Chapter-house.

F. Passage.

G. Prior's lodg-
ings.

Dovecot.

Cells.

Chapel of Pont-
gibaud.

Sacristy.

Chapel.

Stables.

Gateway.

Guest-cham-
bers.

Barns and
granaries.

Watch-tower.

Little cloister.

Bakehouse.

Kitchen.
X. Refectory.
Y. Cemetery.
Z. Prison,
o. Cell of sub-

prior.
Garden of do.

*£f t t t saa T7T f^-_

Fig. 12. — Carthusian monastery of Clermont.

cloister is 18. They are all arranged on a uniform plan. Each little
dwelling contains three rooms: a sitting-room (C), warmed by a
stove in winter; a sleeping-room (D), furnished with a bed, a table,
a bench, and a bookcase; and a closet (E). Between the cell and
the cloister gallery (A) is a passage or corridor (B), cutting off the
inmate of the cell from all sound or movement which might interrupt
his meditations. The superior had free access to this corridor, and
through open niches was able to inspect the garden without being
seen. At I is the hatch or turn-table, in which the daily allowance
of food was deposited by a brother appointed for that purpose,
affording no view either inwards or outwards. H is the garden,
cultivated by the occupant of the cell. At K is the wood-house.
F is a covered walk, with the necessary at the end.

The above arrangements are found with scarcely any varia-
tion in all the charter-houses of western Europe. The Yorkshire
Charter-house of Mount Grace, founded by Thomas Holland,
the young duke of Surrey, nephew of Richard II. and marshal
of England, during the revival of the popularity of the order,
about a.d. 1397, is the most perfect and best preserved English
example. It is characterized by all the simplicity of the order.
The church is a modest building, long, narrow and aisleless.
Within the wall of enclosure are two courts. The smaller of the
two, the south, presents the usual arrangement of church, re-
fectory, &c, opening out of a cloister. The buildings are plain
and solid. The northern court contains the cells, 14 in number.
It is surrounded by a double stone wall, the two walls being
about 30 ft. or 40 ft. apart. Between these, each in its own

ABBEY

garden, stand the cells; low-huilt two-storied cottages, of two
or three rooms on the ground -floor, lighted by a larger and a
smaller window to the side, and provided with a doorway to
the court, and one at the back, opposite to one in the outer wall,
through which the monk may have conveyed the sweepings of
his cell and the refuse of his garden to the " eremus " beyond.
By the side of the door to the court is a little hatch through
which the daily pittance of food was supplied, so contrived by
turning at an angle in the wall that no one could either look in
or look out. A very perfect example of this hatch — an arrange-
ment belonging to all Carthusian houses — exists at Miraflores,
near Burgos, which remains nearly as it was completed in 1480.

w**

A. Cloister gallery.

B. Corridor.

C. Living-room.

D. Sleeping-room.

E. Closets.

F. Covered walk.

G. Necessary.
H. Garden.

I. Hatch. .
K. Wood-house.

■ ■ ac

Fig. 13. — Carthusian cell, Clermont.

There were only nine Carthusian houses in England. The
earliest was that at Witham in Somersetshire, founded by
Henry II., by whom the order was first brought into England.
The wealthiest and most magnificent was that of Sheen or Rich-
mond in Surrey, founded by Henry V. about a.d. 1414. The
dimensions of the buildings at Sheen are stated to have been
remarkably large. The great court measured 300 ft. by 250
ft.; the cloisters were a square of 500 ft; the hall was no
ft. in length by 60 ft. in breadth. The most celebrated
historically is the Charter-house of London, founded by Sir
Walter Manny a.d. 1371, the name of which is preserved by the
famous public school established on the site by Thomas Sutton
a.d. 161 1, now removed to Godalming.

An article on monastic arrangements would be incomplete
without some account of the convents of the Mendicant or
Preaching Friars, including the Black Friars or Domini-
Frtars. " cans » tne Grey or Franciscans, the White or Carmelites,
the Eremite or Austin Friars. These orders arose at the
beginning of the 13th century, when the Benedictines, together
with their various reformed branches, had terminated their
active mission, and Christian Europe was ready for a new re-
ligious revival. Planting themselves, as a rule, in large towns,
and by preference in the poorest and most densely populated
districts, the Preaching Friars were obliged to adapt their
buildings to the requirements of the site. Regularity of arrange-
ment, therefore, was not possible, even if they had studied it.
Their churches, built for the reception of large congregations of
hearers rather than worshippers, form a class by themselves,
totally unlike those of the elder orders in ground-plan and
character. They were usually long parallelograms unbroken by
transepts. The nave very usually consisted of two equal bodies,
one containing the stalls of the brotherhood, the other left
entirely free for the congregation. The constructional choir is
often wanting, the whole church forming one uninterrupted
structure, with a continuous range of windows. The east end
was usually square, but the Friars Church at Winchelsea had a
polygonal apse. We not unfrequently find a single transept,
sometimes of great size, rivalling or exceeding the nave. This
arrangement is frequent in Ireland, where the numerous small
friaries afford admirable exemplifications of these peculiarities

Hulne.

of ground-plan. The friars' churches were at first destitute of
towers; but in the 14th and 15th centuries, tall, slender towers
were commonly inserted between the nave and the choir. The
Grey Friars at Lynn, where the tower is hexagonal, is a good
example. The arrangement of the monastic buildings is equally
peculiar and characteristic. We miss entirely the regularity of
the buildings of the earlier orders. At the Jacobins at Paris, a
cloister lay to the north of the long narrow church of two parallel
aisles, while the refectory — a room of immense length, quite
detached from the cloister — stretched across the area before the
west front of the church. At Toulouse the nave also has two
parallel aisles, but the choir is apsidal, with radiating chapel.
The refectory stretches northwards at right angles to the cloister,
which lies to the north of the church, having the chapter-house
and sacristy on the east. As examples of English
friaries, the Dominican house at Norwich, and those ai oucest ' er ,
of the Dominicans and Franciscans at Gloucester,
may be mentioned. The church of the Black Friars of Norwich
departs from the original type in the nave (now St Andrew's
Hall), in having regular aisles. In this it resembles the earlier
examples of the Grey Friars at Reading. The choir is long and
aisleless; an hexagonal tower between the two, like that existing
at Lynn, has perished. The cloister and monastic buildings
remain tolerably perfect to the north. The Dominican convent
at Gloucester still exhibits the cloister-court, on the north side
of which is the desecrated church. The refectory is on the west
side and on the south the dormitory of the 13th century. This
is a remarkably good example. There were 18 cells or cubicles
on each side, divided by partitions, the bases of which remain.
On the east side was the prior's house, a building of later date.
At the Grey or Franciscan Friars, the church followed the
ordinary type in having two equal bodies, each gabled, with a
continuous range of windows. There was a slender tower be-
tween the nave and the choir. Of the convents of the Carmelite
or White Friars we have a good example in the Abbey
of Hulne, near Alnwick, the first of the order in
England, founded a.d. r24c The church is a narrow oblong,
destitute of aisles, 123 ft. long by only 26 ft. wide. The
cloisters are to the south, with the chapter-house, &c, to the
east, with the dormitory over. The pripr's lodge is placed to
the west of the cloister. The guest-houses adjoin the entrance
gateway, to which a chapel was annexed on the south side of
the conventual area. The nave of the church of the Austin
Friars or Eremites in London is still standing. It is of Decorated
date, and has wide centre and side aisles, divided by a very
light and graceful arcade. Some fragments of the south walk of
the cloister of the Grey Friars remained among the buildings of
Christ's Hospital (the Blue-Coat School), while they were still
standing. Of the Black Friars all has perished but the name.
Taken as a whole, the remains of the establishments of the friars
afford little warrant for the bitter invective of the Benedictine
of St Alban's, Matthew Paris: — " The friars who have been
founded hardly 40 years have built residences as the palaces of
kings. These are they who, enlarging day by day their sumptuous
edifices, encircling them with lofty walls, lay up in them their
incalculable treasures, imprudently transgressing the bounds of
poverty and violating the very fundamental rules of their
profession." Allowance must here be made for jealousy of a rival
order just rising in popularity.

Every large monastery had depending upon it one or more
smaller establishments known as cells. These cells were monastic
colonies, sent forth by the parent house, and planted
on some outlying estate. As an example, we may
refer to the small religious house of St Mary Magdalene's,
a cell of the great Benedictine house of St Mary's, York, in
the valley of the Witham, to the south-east of the city of
Lincoln. This consists of one long narrow range of building, of
which the eastern part formed the chapel and the western
contained the apartments of the handful of monks of which it'
was the home. To the east may be traced the site of the abbey
mill, with its dam and mill-lead. These cells, when belonging to
a Cluniac house, were called Obediential. The plan given by

Cells.

ABBON OF FLEURY— ABBOT

Viollet-le-Duc of the Priory of St Jean des Bons Hommes, a
Cluniac cell, situated between the town of Avallon and the
village of Savigny, shows that these diminutive establishments
comprised every essential feature of a monastery, — chapel,
cloister, chapter-room, refectory, dormitory, all grouped ac-
cording to the recognized arrangement. These Cluniac obedientiae
differed from the ordinary Benedictine cells in being also places of
punishment, to which monks who had been guilty of any grave
infringement of the rules were relegated as to a kind of peniten-
tiary. Here they were placed under the authority of a prior,
and were condemned to severe manual labour, fulfilling the
duties usually executed by the lay brothers, who acted as farm-
servants. The outlying farming establishments belonging to the
monastic foundations were known as villae or granges. They
gave employment to a body of conversi and labourers under the
management of a monk, who bore the title of Brother Hospitaller
— the granges, like their parent institutions, affording shelter
and hospitality to belated travellers.

Authorities. — Dugdale, Monaslicon; Lenoir, Architecture monas-
tique (1852-1856) ; Viollet-le-Duc, Dictionnaire raisonnee de ['archi-
tecture francaise; Springer, Klosterleben und Klosterkunsl (1886);
Kraus, Geschichte der chrisllichen Kunst (1896). (E. V.)

ABBON OF FLEURY, or Abbo Floriacensis (c. 945-
1004), a learned Frenchman, born near Orleans about 945. He
distinguished himself in the schools of Paris and Reims, and was
especially proficient in science as known in his time. He spent
two years in England, assisting Archbishop Oswald of York in
restoring the monastic system, and was abbot of Romsey. After
his return to France he was made abbot of Fleury on the Loire
(988). He was twice sent to Rome by King Robert the Pious
(986, 996), and on each occasion succeeded in warding off a
threatened papal interdict. He was killed at La Reole in 1004,
in endeavouring to quell a monkish revolt. He wrote an
Epilome de vilis Romanorum pontificum, besides controversial
treatises, letters, &c. (see Migne, Patrologia Latina, vol. 139).
His life, written by his disciple Aimoin of Fleury, in which much
of Abbon's correspondence was reproduced, is of great import-
ance as a source for the reign of Robert II., especially with
reference to the papacy (cf. Migne, op. cit. vol. 139).

See Ch. Pfister, Etudes sur le regne de Robert le Pieux (1885) ;
Cuissard-Gaucheron, " L'Ecole de Fleury-sur-Loire a la fin du io"
siecle," in Memoires de la sociite archeol. de I'Orleanais, xiv. (Orleans,
1875) ; A. Molinier, Sources de Vhistoire de France.

ABBOT, EZRA (1810-1884), American biblical scholar, was
born at Jackson, Waldo county, Maine, on the 28th of April
1819. He graduated at Bowdoin College in 1840; and in 1847,
at the request of Prof. Andrews Norton, went to Cambridge,
where he was principal of a public school until 1856. He was
assistant librarian of Harvard University from 1856 to 1872,
and planned and perfected an alphabetical card catalogue,
combining many of the advantages of the ordinary dictionary
catalogues with the grouping of the minor topics under more
general heads, which is characteristic of a systematic cata-
logue. From 1872 until his death he was Bussey Professor of
New Testament Criticism . and Interpretation in the Harvard
Divinity School. His studies were chiefly in Oriental languages
and the textual criticism of the New Testament, though his
work as a bibliographer showed such results as the exhaustive
list of writings (5300 in all) on the doctrine of the future life,
appended to \V. R. Alger's History of the Doctrine of a Future
Life, as it has prevailed in all Nations and Ages (1862), and
published separately' in 1864. His publications, though always
of the most thorough and scholarly character, were to a large
extent dispersed in the pages of reviews, dictionaries, concord-
■ ances, texts edited by others, Unitarian controversial treatises,
&c; but he took a more conspicuous and more personal part in
the preparation (with the Baptist scholar, Horatio B. Hackett)
of the enlarged American edition of Dr (afterwards Sir) William
Smith's Dictionary of the Bible (1867-1870), to which he contri-
buted more than 400 articles besides greatly improving the
bibliographical completeness of the work; was an efficient
member of the American revision committee employed in
connexion with the Revised Version (1881-1885) of the King

James Bible; and aided in the preparation of Caspar Ren6
Gregory's Prolegomena to the revised Greek New Testament of
Tischendorf. His principal single production, representing his
scholarly method and conservative conclusions, was The Author-
ship of the Fourth Gospel: External Evidences (1880; second
edition, by J. H. Thayer, with other essays, 1889), originally a
lecture, and in spite of the compression due to its form, up to
that time probably the ablest defence, based on external evi-
dence, of the Johannine authorship, and certainly the com-
pletest treatment of the relation of Justin Martyr to this gospel.
Abbot, though a layman, received the degree of S. T. D. from
Harvard in 1872, and that of D.D. from Edinburgh in 1884.
He died in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on the 21st of March
1884.

See S. J. Barrows, Ezra Abbot (Cambridge, Mass., 1884).

ABBOT, GEORGE (1562-1633), English divine, archbishop of
Canterbury, was born on the 19th of October 1562, at Guildford
in Surrey, where his father was a cloth-worker. He studied,
and then taught, at Balliol College, Oxford, was chosen master
of University College in 1 597, and appointed dean of Winchester
in 1600. He was three times vice-chancellor of the university,
and took a leading part in preparing the authorized version of
the New Testament. In 1608 he went to Scotland with the earl
of Dunbar to arrange for a union between the churches of
England and Scotland. He so pleased the king (James I.) in
this affair that he was made bishop of Lichfield and Coventry
in 1609, was translated to the see of London a month afterwards,
and in less than a year was raised to that of Canterbury. His
puritan instincts frequently led him not only into harsh treat-
ment of Roman Catholics, but also into courageous resistance to
the royal will, e.g. when he opposed the scandalous divorce suit
of the Lady Frances Howard against the earl of Essex, and again
in 1618 when, at Croydon, he forbade the reading of the declara-
tion permitting Sunday sports. He was naturally, therefore, a
promoter of the match between the elector palatine and the
Princess Elizabeth, and a firm opponent of the projected mar-
riage of the prince of Wales with the infanta of Spain. This
policy brought upon him the hatred of Laud (with whom he
had previously come into collision at Oxford) and the court,
though the king himself never forsook him. In 1622, while
hunting in Lord Zouch's park at Bramshill, Hampshire, a bolt
from his cross-bow aimed at a deer happened to strike one of
the keepers, who died within an hour, and Abbot was so greatly
distressed by the event that he fell into a state of settled melan-
choly. His enemies maintained that the fatal issue of this
accident disqualified him for his office, and argued that, though
the homicide was involuntary, the sport of hunting which had
led to it was one in which no clerical person could lawfully
indulge. The king had to refer the matter to a commission of
ten, though he said that "an angel might have miscarried -after
this sort." The commission was equally divided, and the king
gave a casting vote in the archbishop's favour, though signing
also a formal pardon or dispensation. After this the arch-
bishop seldom appeared at the council, chiefly on account of
his infirmities. He attended the king constantly, however, in
his last illness, and performed the ceremony of the coronation
of Charles I. His refusal to license the assize sermon preached
by Dr Robert Sib thorp at Northampton on the 22nd of February
1626-1627, in which cheerful obedience was urged to the king's
demand for a general loan, and the duty proclaimed of absolute
non-resistance even to the most arbitrary royal commands, led
Charles to deprive him of his functions as primate, putting them
in commission. The need of summoning parliament, however,
soon brought about a nominal restoration of the archbishop's
powers. His presence being unwelcome at court, he lived
from that time in retirement, leaving Laud and his party in
undisputed ascendancy. He died at Croydon on the 5th of
August 1633, and was buried at Guildford, his native place,
where he had endowed a hospital with lands to the value of £300
a year. Abbot was a conscientious prelate, though narrow in
view and often harsh towards both separatists and Romanists.
He wrote a large number of works, the most interesting being

ABBOT

his discursive Exposition an the Prophet Jonah (1600), which was
reprinted in 1845. His Geography, or a Brief Description of the
Whole World (1599), passed through numerous editions.

The best account of him is in S. R. Gardiner's History of England.

ABBOT, GEORGE (1603-1648), English writer, known as
" The Puritan," has been oddly and persistently mistaken for
others. He has been described as a clergyman, which he never
was, and as son of Sir Morris (or Maurice) Abbot, and his writ-
ings accordingly entered in the bibliographical authorities as
by the nephew of the archbishop of Canterbury. One of the
sons of Sir Morris Abbot was, indeed, named George, and he
was a man of mark, but the more famous George Abbot was of a
different family altogether. He was son or grandson (it is not
clear which) of Sir Thomas Abbot, knight of Easington, East
Yorkshire, having been born there in 1603-1604, his mother (or
grandmother) being of the ancient house of Pickering. Of his
early life and training nothing is known. He married a daughter
of Colonel Purefoy of Caldecote, Warwickshire, and as his
monument, which may still be seen in the church there, tells,
he hravely held the manor house against Princes Rupert and
Maurice during the civil war. As a layman, and nevertheless a
theologian and scholar of rare ripeness and critical ability, he
holds an almost unique place in the literature of the period.
The terseness of his Whole Booke of Job Paraphrased, or made
easy for any to understand (1640, 4to), contrasts favourably with
the usual prolixity of the Puritan expositors and commentators.
His Vindiciae Sabbatki (1641, 8vo) had a profound and lasting
influence in the long Sabbatarian controversy. His Brief Notes
upon the Whole Book of Psalms (1651, 4to), as its date shows,
was posthumous. He died on the 2nd of February 1648.

Authorities. — MS. collections at Abbeyville for history of all of
the name of Abbot, by J. T. Abbot, Esq., F.S.A., Darlington ; Dug-
dale's Antiquities of Warwickshire, 1730, p. 1099 ; Wood's Athenae
(Bliss), ii. 141, 594; Cox's Literature of the Sabbath.

ABBOT, ROBERT (i588?-i662?), English Puritan divine.
Noted as this worthy was in his own time, and representative
in various ways, he has often since been confounded with others,
e.g. Robert Abbot, bishop of Salisbury. He is also wrongly
described as a relative of Archbishop Abbot, from whom he
acknowledges very gratefully, in the first of his epistles dedi-
catory of A Hand of Fellowship to Helpe Keepo out Sinne and
Antichrist (1623, 4to), that he had " received all " his " worldly
maintenance," as well as " best earthly countenance " and
" fatherly incouragements." The worldly maintenance was
the presentation in 1616 to the vicarage of Cranbrook in Kent.
He had received his education at Cambridge, where he pro-
ceeded M.A., and was afterwards incorporated at Oxford. In
1639, in the epistle to the reader of his most noticeable book
historically, his Triall of our Church-Forsakers, he tells us, "I
have lived now, by God's gratious dispensation, above fifty years,
and in the place of my allotment two and twenty full." The
former date carries us back to 1588-1589, or perhaps 1 587-1 588
— the " Armada " year — as his birth-time; the latter to 1616-
161 7 (ut supra). In his Bee Thankfull London and her Sisters
(1626), he describes himself as formerly "assistant to a reverend
divine . . . now with God," and the name on the margin is
" Master Haiward of Wool Church (Dorset)." This was doubt-
less previous to his going to Cranbrook. Very remarkable and
effective was Abbot's ministry at Cranbrook, where his parish-
ioners were as his own " sons and daughters " to him. Yet,
Puritan though he was, he was extremely and often unfairly
antagonistic to Nonconformists. He remained at Cranbrook
until 1643, when, Parliament deciding against pluralities of
ecclesiastical offices, he chose the very inferior living of South-
wick, Hants, as between the one and the other. He afterwards
succeeded the " extruded " Udall of St Austin's, London, where
according to the Warning-piece he was still pastor in 1657. He
disappears silently between 1657-1658 and 1662. Robert Abbot's
books are conspicuous amongst the productions of his time by
their terseness and variety. In addition to those mentioned
above he wrote Milk for Babes, or a Mother's Catechism for her
Children (1646), and A Christian Family builded by Gad, or Direc-
tions for Governors of Families (1653).

Authorities. — Brook's Puritans, iii. 182,3; Walker's Sufferings,
ii. 183; Wood's Athenae (Bliss), i. 323; Palmer's Nonconf. Mem. ii.
218, which confuses him most oddly of all with one of the ejected
ministers of 1662.

ABBOT, WILLIAM (1798-1843), English actor, was born in
Chelsea, and made his first appearance on the stage at Bath
in 1806, and his first London appearance in 1808. At Covent
Garden in 1813, in light comedy and melodrama, he made his
first decided success. He was Pylades to Macready's Orestes in
Ambrose Philips's Distressed Mother when Macready made his
first appearance at that theatre (1816). He created the parts of
Appius Claudius in Sheridan Knowles's Virginius (1820) and of
Modus in his Hunchback (1832). In 1827 he organized the com-
pany, including Macready and Miss Smithson, which acted
Shakespeare in Paris. On his return to London he played
Romeo to Fanny Kemble's Juliet (1830). Two of Abbot's
melodramas, The Youthful Days of Frederick the Great (181 7)
and Swedish Patriotism (1819), were produced at Covent Garden.
He died in poverty at Baltimore, Maryland.

ABBOT (from the Hebrew ab, a father, through the Syriac
abba, Lat. abbas, gen. abbalis, O.E. abbad, fr. late Lat. form
abbad-em changed in 13th century under influence of the
Lat. form to abbat, used alternatively till the end of the 17th
century; Ger. Abl; Fr. abbS), the head and chief governor of a
community of monks, called also in the East hegumenos or
archimandrite. The title had its origin in the monasteries of
Syria, whence it spread through the East, and soon became
accepted generally in all languages as the designation of the
head of a monastery. At first it was employed as a respectful
title for any monk, as we learn from St Jerome, who denounced
the custom on the ground that Christ had said, " Call no man
father on earth " (in Epist. ad Gal. iv. 6, in Matt, xxiii. 9),
but it was soon restricted to the superior. The name "abbot,"
though general in the West, was never universal. Among the
Dominicans, Carmelites, Augustinians, &c, the superior was
called Praepositns, "provost," and Prior; among the Francis-
cans, Custos, " guardian "; and by the monks of Camaldoli,
Major.

In Egypt, the first home of monasticism, the jurisdiction of
the abbot, or archimandrite, was but loosely defined. Some-
times he ruled over only one community, sometimes over several,
each of which had its own abbot as well. Cassian speaks of an
abbot of the Thebaid who had 500 monks under him, a number
exceeded in other cases. By the rule of St Benedict, which, until
the reform of Cluny, was the norm in the West, the abbot has
jurisdiction over only one community. The rule, as was inevit-
able, was subject to frequent violations; but it was not until
.the foundation of the Cluniac Order that the idea of a supreme
abbot, exercising jurisdiction over all the houses of an order,
was definitely regognized. New styles were devised to express
this new relation; thus the abbot of Monte Cassino was called
abbas abbalum, while the chiefs of other orders had the titles
abbas generalis, or magister or minister generalis.

Monks, as a rule, were laymen, nor at the outset was the
abbot any exception. All orders of clergy, therefore, even the
"doorkeeper," took precedence of him. For the reception of
the sacraments, and for other religious offices, the abbot and his,
monks were commanded to attend the nearest church (Novellae,
133, c. ii.). This rule naturally proved inconvenient when a
monastery was situated in a desert or at a distance from a city,
and necessity compelled the ordination of abbots. This innova-
tion was not introduced without a struggle, ecclesiastical dignity
being regarded as inconsistent with the higher spiritual life, but,
before the close of the 5th century, at least in the East, abbots
seem almost universally to have become deacons, if not pres-
byters. The change spread more slowly in the West, where the
office of abbot was commonly filled by laymen till the end of
the 7th century, and partially so up to the nth. Ecclesiastical
councils were, however, attended by abbots. Thus at that held
at Constantinople, a.d. 448, for the condemnation of Eutyches,
23 archimandrites or abbots sign, with 30 bishops, and, c. a.d.
690, Archbishop Theodore promulgated a canon, inhibiting

ABBOT

bishops from compelling abbots to attend councils. Examples
are not uncommon in Spain and in England in Saxon times.
Abbots were permitted by the second council of Nicaea, a.d. 787,
to ordain their monks to the inferior orders. This rule was
adopted in the West, and the strong prejudice against clerical
monks having gradually broken down, eventually monks,
almost without exception, took holy orders.

Abbots were originally subject to episcopal jurisdiction, and
continued generally so, in fact, in the West till the nth century.
The Code of Justinian (lib. i. tit. iii. de Ep. leg. xl.) expressly
subordinates the abbot to episcopal oversight. The first case
recorded of the partial exemption of an abbot from episcopal
control is that of Faustus, abbot of Lerins, at the council of
Aries, a.d. 456; but the exorbitant claims and exactions of
bishops, to which this repugnance to episcopal control is to be
traced, far more than to the arrogance of abbots, rendered it
increasingly frequent, and, in the 6th century, the practice of
exempting religious houses partly or altogether from episcopal
control, and making them responsible to the pope alone, received
an impulse from Gregory the Great. These exceptions, intro-
duced with a good object, had grown into a widespread evil
by the 12th century, virtually creating an imperium in imperio,
and depriving the bishop of all authority over the chief centres
of influence in his diocese. In the 12th century the abbots of
Fulda claimed precedence of the archbishop of Cologne. Abbots
more and more assumed almost episcopal state, and in defiance
of the prohibition of early councils and the protests of St Bernard
and others, adopted the episcopal insignia of mitre, ring, gloves
and sandals. It has been maintained that the right to wear
mitres was sometimes granted by the popes to abbots before the
nth century, but the documents on which this claim is based
are not genuine (J. Braun, Liturgische Gewandung, p. 453). The
first undoubted instance is the bull by which Alexander II. in
1063 granted the use of the mitre to Egelsinus, abbot of the monas-
tery of St Augustine at Canterbury (see Mitre). The mitred
abbots in England were those of Abingdon, St Alban's, Bardney,
Battle, Bury St Edmund's, St Augustine's Canterbury, Col-
chester, Croyland, Evesham, Glastonbury, Gloucester, St Benet's
Hulme, Hyde, Malmesbury, Peterborough, Ramsey, Reading,
Selby, Shrewsbury, Tavistock, Thorney, Westminster, Winch-
combe, St Mary's York. Of these the precedence was originally
yielded to the abbot of Glastonbury, until in a.d. 1 1 54 Adrian IV.
(Nicholas Breakspear) granted it to the abbot of St Alban's, in
which monastery he had been brought up. Next after the abbot
of St Alban's ranked the abbot of Westminster. To distinguish
abbots from bishops, it was ordained that their mitre should be
made of less costly materials, and should not be ornamented
with gold, a rule which was soon entirely disregarded,, and that
the crook of their pastoral staff should turn inwards instead of
outwards, indicating that their jurisdiction was limited to their
own house.

The adoption of episcopal insignia by abbots was followed
by an encroachment on episcopal functions, which had to
be specially but ineffectually guarded against by the Lateran
council, A.D.1123. In the East, abbots, if in priests' orders,
with the consent of the bishop, were, as we have seen, permitted
by the second Nicene council, a.d. 787, to confer the tonsure
and admit to the order of reader; but gradually abbots, in the
West also, advanced higher claims, until we find them in a.d.
1489 permitted by Innocent IV. to confer both the subdiaconate
and diaconate. Of course, they always and everywhere had the
power of admitting their own monks and vesting them with the
religious habit.

When a vacancy occurred, the bishop of the diocese chose the
abbot out of the monks of the convent, but the right of election
was transferred by jurisdiction to the monks themselves, reserv-
ing to the bishop the confirmation of the election and the bene-
diction of the new abbot. In abbeys exempt from episcopal
jurisdiction, the confirmation and benediction had to be conferred
by the pope in person, the house being taxed with the expenses
of the new abbot's journey to Rome. By the rule of St Benedict,
the consent of the laity was in some undefined way required;

but this seems never to have been practically enforced. It was
necessary that an abbot should be at least 25 years of age, of
legitimate birth, a monk of the house, unless it furnished no
suitable candidate, when a liberty was allowed of electing from
another convent, well instructed himself, and able to instruct
others, one also who had learned how to command by having
practised obedience. In some exceptional cases an abbot was
allowed to name his own successor. Cassian speaks of an abbot
in Egypt doing this; and in later times we have another example
in the case of St Bruno. Popes and sovereigns gradually en-
croached on the rights of the monks, until in Italy the pope had
usurped the nomination of all abbots, and the king in France,
with the exception of Cluny, Premontre and other houses, chiefs
of their order. The election was for life, unless the abbot was
canonically deprived by the chiefs of his order, or when he was
directly subject to them, by the pope or the bishop.

The ceremony of the formal admission of a Benedictine abbot
in medieval times is thus prescribed by the consuetudinary of
Abingdon. The newly elected abbot was to put off his shoes at
the door of the church, and proceed barefoot to meet the mem-
bers of the house advancing in a procession. After proceeding
up the nave, he was to kneel and pray at the topmost step of
the entrance of the choir, into which he was to be introduced
by the bishop or his commissary, and placed in his stall. The
monks, then kneeling, gave him the kiss of peace on the hand,
and rising, on the mouth, the- abbot holding his staff of office.
He then put on his shoes in the vestry, and a chapter was held,
and the bishop or his commissary preached a suitable sermon.

The power of the abbot was paternal but absolute, limited,
however, by the canons of the church, and, until the general
establishment of exemptions, by episcopal control. As a rule,
however, implicit obedience was enforced; to act without his
orders was culpable; while it was a sacred duty to execute
his orders, however unreasonable, until they were withdrawn.
Examples among the Egyptian monks of this blind submission
to the commands of the superiors, exalted into a virtue by
those who regarded the entire crushing of the individual will
as the highest excellence, are detailed by Cassian and others, —
e.g. a monk watering a dry stick, day after day, for months, or
endeavouring to remove a huge rock immensely exceeding his
powers. St Jerome, indeed, lays down, as the principle of the
compact between the abbot and his monks, that they should
obey their superiors in all things, and perform whatever they
commanded (Ep. 2, ad Eustoch. de custod. virgin.). So despotic
did the tyranny become in the West, that in the time of Charle-
magne it was necessary to restrain abbots by legal enactments
from mutilating their monks and putting out their eyes; while
the rule of St Columban ordained 100 lashes as the punishment
for very slight offences. An abbot also had the power of ex-
communicating refractory nuns, which he might use if desired
by their abbess.

The abbot was treated with the utmost submission and
reverence by the brethren of his house. When he appeared
either in church or chapter all present rose and bowed. His
letters were received kneeling, like those of the pope and the
king. If he gave a command, the monk receiving it was also to
kneel. No monk might sit in his presence, or leave it without
his permission. The highest place was naturally assigned to
him, both in church and at table. In the East he was commanded
to eat with the other monks. In the West the rule of St Benedict
appointed him a separate table, at which he might entertain
guests and strangers. This permission opening the door to
luxurious living, the council of Aix, a.d. 817, decreed that the
abbot should dine in the refectory, and be content with the
ordinary fare of the monks, unless he had to entertain a guest.
These ordinances proved, however, generally ineffectual to
secure strictness of diet, and contemporaneous literature abounds
with satirical remarks and complaints concerning the inordinate
extravagance of the tables of the abbots. When the abbot con-
descended to dine in the refectory, his chaplains waited upon
him with the dishes, a servant, if necessary, assisting them. At
St Alban's the abbot took the lord's seat, in the centre of the

ABBOTSFORD

high table, and was served on silver plate, and sumptuously
entertained noblemen, ambassadors and strangers of quality.
When abbots dined in' their own private hall, the rule of St
Benedict charged them to invite their monks to their table,
provided there was room, on which occasions the guests were
to abstain from quarrels, slanderous talk and idle gossiping.

The ordinary attire of the abbot was according to rule to be
the same as that of the monks. But by the 10th century the
rule was commonly set aside, and we find frequent complaints
of abbots dressing in silk, and adopting sumptuous attire. They
sometimes even laid aside the monastic habit altogether, and
assumed a secular dress. 1 This was a necessary consequence of
their following the chase, which was quite usual, and indeed at
that time only natural. With the increase of wealth and power,
abbots had lost much of their special religious character, and
become great lords, chiefly distinguished from lay lords by
celibacy. Thus we hear of abbots going out to sport, with their
men carrying bows and arrows; keeping horses, dogs and
huntsmen; and special mention is made of an abbot of Leicester,
c. 1360, who was the most skilled of all the nobility in hare-
hunting. In magnificence of equipage and retinue the abbots
vied with the first nobles of the realm. They rode on mules with
gilded bridles, rich saddles and housings, carrying hawks on
their wrist, followed by an immense train of attendants. The
bells of the churches were rung as they passed. They associated
on equal terms with laymen of the highest distinction, and
shared all their pleasures and pursuits. This rank and power
was, however, often used most beneficially. For instance, we
read of Whiting, the last abbot of Glastonbury, judicially mur-
dered by Henry VIII., that his house was a kind of well-ordered
court, where as many as 300 sons of noblemen and gentlemen,
who had been sent to him for virtuous education, had been
brought up, besides others of a meaner rank, whom, he fitted for
the universities. His table, attendance and officers were an
honour to the nation. He would entertain as many as 500
persons of rank at one time, besides relieving the poor of the
vicinity twice a week. He had his country houses and fisheries,
and when he travelled to attend parliament his retinue amounted
to upwards of 100 persons. The abbots of Cluny and Vend6me
were, by virtue of their office, cardinals of the Roman church.

In process of time the title abbot was improperly transferred
to clerics who had no connexion with the monastic system, as
to the principal of a body of parochial clergy; and under the
Carolingians to the chief chaplain of the king, Abbas Curiae, or
military chaplain of the emperor, Abbas Castrensis. It even
came to be adopted by purely secular officials. Thus the chief
magistrate of the republic at Genoa was called Abbas Populi.
Du Cange, in his glossary, also gives us Abbas Campanilis,
Clocherii, Palatii, Scholaris, &c.

Lay abbots (M. Lat. defensorcs, abbacomites, abbates laid,
abbates milites, abbates saeculares or irreligiosi, abbatiarii, or
sometimes simply abbates) were the outcome of the growth of
the feudal system from the 8th century onwards. The practice
of commendation, by which — to meet a contemporary emergency
— the revenues of the community were handed over to a lay
lord, in return for his protection, early suggested to the em-
perors and kings the expedient of rewarding their warriors with
rich abbeys held in commendam. During the Carolingian epoch
the custom grew up of granting these as regular heritable fiefs
or benefices, and by the 10th century, before the great Cluniac
reform, the system was firmly established. Even the abbey of
St Denis was held in commendam by Hugh Capet. The example
of the kings was followed by the feudal nobles, sometimes by
making a temporary concession permanent, sometimes without
any form of commendation whatever. In England the abuse
was rife in the 8th century, as may be gathered from the acts
of the council of Cloveshoe. These lay abbacies were not merely
a question of overlordship, but implied the concentration in
lay hands of all the rights, immunities and jurisdiction of the
foundations, i.e. the more or less complete secularization of

1 Walworth, the fourth abbot of St Alban's, c. 930, is charged by
Matthew Paris with adopting the attire of a sportsman.

spiritual institutions. The lay abbot took his recognized rank
in the feudal hierarchy, and was free to dispose of his fief as in
the case of any other. The enfeoffment of abbeys differed in
form and degree. Sometimes the monks were directly subject
to the lay abbot; sometimes he appointed a substitute to
perform the spiritual functions, known usually as dean (decanus),
but also as abbot (abbas legitimus, monasticus, regularis). When
the great reform of the nth century had put an end to the direct
jurisdiction of the lay abbots, the honorary title of abbot con-
tinued to be held by certain of the great feudal families, as late
as the 13th century and later, the actual head of the community
retaining that of dean. The connexion of the lesser lay abbots
with the abbeys, especially in the south of France, lasted longer;
and certain feudal families retained the title of abbSs chevaliers
(abbates milites) for centuries, together with certain rights over
the abbey lands or revenues. The abuse was not confined to the
West. John, patriarch of Antioch, at the beginning of the 12th
century, informs us that in his time most monasteries had been
handed over to laymen, beneficiarii, for life, or for part of their
lives, by the emperors.

In conventual cathedrals, where the bishop occupied the place
of the abbot, the functions usually devolving on the superior
of the monastery were performed by a prior.

The title abbS (Ital. abbate), as commonly used in the Catholic
church on the European continent, is the equivalent of the
English " Father," being loosely applied to all who have re-
ceived the tonsure. This use of the title is said to have originated
in the right conceded to the king of France, by the concordat
between Pope Leo X. and Francis I. (1516), to appoint abbe's
commendataires to most of the abbeys in France. The expecta-
tion of obtaining these sinecures drew young men towards the
church in considerable numbers, and the class of abbes so formed
— abbSs de cour they were sometimes called, and sometimes
(ironically) abbis de sainte espirance, abbes of St Hope — came
to hold a recognized position. The connexion many of them
had with the church was of the slenderest kind, consisting mainly
in adopting the name of abb6, after a remarkably moderate
course of theological study, practising celibacy and wearing a
distinctive dress — a short dark-violet coat with narrow collar.
Being men of presumed learning and undoubted leisure, many
of the class found admission to the houses of the French nobility
as tutors or advisers. Nearly every great family had its abbe.
The class did not survive the Revolution; but the courtesy
title of abbe, having long lost all connexion in people's minds
with any special ecclesiastical function, remained as a convenient
general term applicable to any clergyman.

In the German Evangelical church the title of abbot (Abt)
is sometimes bestowed, like abbi, as an honorary distinction,
and sometimes survives to designate the heads of monasteries
converted at the Reformation into collegiate foundations. Of
these the most noteworthy is the abbey of Lokkum in Hanover,
founded as a Cistercian house in 11 63 by Count Wilbrand of
Hallermund, and reformed in 1593. The abbot of Lokkum,
who still carries a pastoral staff, takes precedence of all the clergy
of -Hanover, and is ex officio a member of the consistory of the
kingdom. The governing body of the abbey consists of abbot,
prior and the " convent " of canons (Stiftsherren).

See Joseph Bingham, Origines ecclesiasticae (1840); Du Cange,
Gtossarium med. et inf. Lat. (ed. 1883); J. Craigie Robertson, Hist,
of the Christian Church (1858-1873); Edmond Marine, De antiquis
ecclesiae ritibus (Venice, 1783); C. F. R. de Montalembert, Les
moines a" accident depuis S. Benott jusqu'a S. Bernard (1860-1877);
Achille Luchaire, Manuel des institutions francaises (Par. 1892).

(E. V. ; W. A. P.)

ABBOTSFORD, formerly the residence of Sir Walter Scott,
situated on the S. bank of the Tweed, about 3 m. W. of Melrose,
Roxburghshire, Scotland, and nearly 1 m. from Abbotsford
Ferry station on the North British railway, connecting Selkirk
and Galashiels. The nucleus of the estate was a small farm of
100 acres, called Cartleyhole, nicknamed Clarty (i.e. muddy)
Hole, and bought by Scott on the lapse of his lease (1811) of the
neighbouring house of Ashestiel. It was added to from time to
time, the last and principal acquisition being that of Toftfield

ABBOTT

(afterwards named Huntlyburn), purchased in 1817. The new
house was then begun and completed in 1824. The general
ground-plan is a parallelogram, with irregular outlines, one side
overlooking the Tweed; and the style is mainly the Scottish
Baronial. Into various parts of the fabric were built relics and
curiosities from historical structures, such as the doorway of
the old Tolbooth in Edinburgh. Scott had only enjoyed his
residence one year when (1825) he met with that reverse of
fortune which involved the estate in debt. In 1830 the library
and museum were presented to him as a free gift by the creditors.
The property was wholly disencumbered in 1847 by Robert
Cadell, the publisher, who cancelled the bond upon it in ex-
change for the family's share in the copyright of Sir Walter's
works. Scott's only son Walter did not live to enjoy the property,
having died on his way from India in 1847. Among subsequent
possessors were Scott's son-in-law, J. G. Lockhart , J. R. Hope
Scott, Q.C., and his daughter (Scott's great-granddaughter), the
Hon. Mrs Maxwell Scott. Abbotsford gave its name to the
" Abbotsford Club," a successor of the Bannatyne and Maitland
clubs, founded by W. B. D. D. Turnbull in 1834 in Scott's,
honour, for printing and publishing historical works connected
with his writings. Its publications extended from 1835 to 1864.

See Lockhart, Life of Scott; Washington Irving, Abbotsford and
Newstead Abbey; W. S. Crockett, The Scott Country.

ABBOTT, EDWIN ABBOTT (1838- ), English school-
master and theologian, was born on the 20th of December 1838.
He was educated at the City of London school and at St John's
College, Cambridge, where he took the highest honours in the
classical, mathematical and theological triposes, and became
fellow of his college. In 1862 he took orders. After holding
masterships at King Edward's School, Birmingham, and at
Clifton College, he succeeded G. F. Mortimer as headmaster
of the City of London school in 1865 at the early age of twenty-
six. He was Hulsean lecturer in 1876. He retired in 1889, and
devoted himself to literary and theological pursuits. Dr Abbott's
liberal inclinations in theology were prominent both in his
educational views and in his books. His Shakespearian Gram-
mar (1870) is a permanent contribution to English philology.
In 1885 he published a life of Francis Bacon. His theo-
logical writings include three anonymously published religious
romances — Philochrislus (1878), Onesimus (1882), Silanus (1906).
More weighty contributions are the anonymous theological
discussion The Kernel and the Husk (1886), Fhilomythus (1891),
his book on Cardinal Newman as an Anglican (1892), and his
article " The Gospels " in the ninth edition of the Encyclopaedia
Brilannica, embodying a critical view which caused considerable
stir in the English theological world; he also wrote Si Thomas
of Canterbury, his Death and Miracles (1898), Johannine Vocabu-
lary (1905), Johannine Grammar (1906).

His brother, Evelyn Abbott (1843-1901), was a well-known
tutor of Balliol, Oxford, and author of a scholarly History of
Greece.

ABBOTT, EMMA (1840-1891), American singer, was born at
Chicago and studied in Milan and Paris. She had a fine soprano
voice, and appeared first in opera in London under Colonel
Mapleson's direction at Covent Garden, also singing at important
concerts. She organized an opera company known by her name,
and toured extensively in the United States, where she had a
great reputation. In 1873 sne married E. J. Wetherell. She
died at Salt Lake City on the 5th of January 1891.

ABBOTT, JACOB (1803-1879), American writer of books for
the young, was born at . Hallowell, Maine, on the 14th of
November 1803. He graduated at Bowdoin College in 1820;
studied at Andover Theological Seminary in 1821, 1822, and
1824; was tutor in 1824-1825, and from 1825 to 1829 was
professor of mathematics and natural philosophy in Amherst
College; was licensed to preach by the Hampshire Association
in 1826; founded the Mount Vernon School for young ladies in
Boston in 1829, and was principal of it in 1820-1833; was pastor
of Eliot Congregational Church (which he founded), at Roxbury,
Mass., in 1834-1835; and was, with his brothers, a founder, and
in 1843-1851 a principal of Abbott's Institute, and in 1845-1848

of the Mount Vernon School for boys, in New York City. He was
a prolific author, writing juvenile stories, brief histories and
biographies, and religious books for the general reader, and a
few works in popular science. He died on the 31st of October
1879 at Farmington, Maine, where he had spent part of his time
since 1839, and where his brother Samuel Phillips Abbott
founded in 1844 the Abbott School, popularly called "Little
Blue." Jacob Abbott's " Rollo Books "—Rollo at Work, Rollo
at Play, Rollo in Europe, &c. (28 vols.) — are the best known of
his writings, having as their chief characters a representative
boy and his associates. In them Abbott did for one or two
generations of young American readers a service not unlike that
performed earlier, in England and America, by the authors of
Evenings at Home, Sandford and Merlon, and the Parent's
Assistant. Of his other writings (he produced more than two
hundred volumes in all), the best are the Franconia Stories (10
vols.), twenty-two volumes of biographical histories in a series
of thirty-two volumes (with his brother John S. C. Abbott), and
the Young Christian, — all of which had enormous circulations.

His sons, Benjamin Vaughan Abbott (1830-1890), Austin
Abbott (1831-1896), both eminent lawyers, Lyman Abbott
(q.v.), and Edward Abbott (1841-1908), a clergyman, were also
well-known authors.

See his Young Christian, Memorial Edition, with a Sketch of the
Author by one of his sons, i.e. Edward Abbott (New York, 1882),
with a bibliography of his works.

ABBOTT, JOHN STEVENS CABOT (1805-1877), American
writer, was born in Brunswick, Maine, on the 18th of September
1805. He was a brother of Jacob Abbott, and was associated
with him in the management of Abbott's Institute, New York
City, and in the preparation of his .series of brief historical
biographies. He is best known, however, as the author of a
partisan and unscholarly, but widely popular and very readable
History of Napoleon Bonaparte (1855), in which the various
elements and episodes in Napoleon's career are treated with some
skill in arrangement, but with unfailing adulation. Dr Abbott
graduated at Bowdoin College in 1825, prepared for the ministry
at Andover Theological Seminary, and between 1830 and 1844,
when he retired from the ministry, preached successively at
Worcester, Roxbury and Nantucket, Massachusetts. He died
at Fair Haven, Connecticut, on the 17th of June 1877. He was
a voluminous writer of books on Christian ethics, and of his-
tories, which now seem unscholarly and untrustworthy, but
were valuable in their time in cultivating a popular interest in
history. In general, except that he did not write juvenile fiction,
his work in subject and style closely resembles that of his brother,
Jacob Abbott.

ABBOTT, LYMAN (1835- ), American divine and author,
was born at Roxbury, Massachusetts, on the 18th of December
1835, the son of Jacob Abbott. He graduated at the University
of New York in 1853, studied law, and was admitted to the bar
in 1856; but soon abandoned the legal profession, and, after
studying theology with his uncle, J. S. C. Abbott, was ordained
a minister of the Congregational Church in i860. He was pastor
of a church inTerre Haute, Indiana, in 1860-1865, and of the New
England Church in New York City in 1865-1869. From 1865 to
1868 he was secretary of the American Union (Freedman's)
Commission. In 1869 he resigned his pastorate to devote him-
self to literature. He was an associate editor of Harper's Maga-
zine, was editor of the Illustrated Christian Weekly, and was
co-editor (1876-1881) of The Christian Union with Henry Ward
Beecher, whom he succeeded in 1888 as pastor of Plymouth
Church, Brooklyn. From this pastorate he resigned ten years
later. From 1881 he was editor-in-chief of The Christian Union,
renamed The Outlook in 1893; this periodical reflected his efforts
toward social reform, and, in theology, a liberality, humanitarian
and nearly unitarian. The latter characteristics marked his
published works also.

His works include Jesus of Nazareth (1869) ; Illustrated Commentary
on the New Testament (4 vols., 1875) ; A Study in Human Nature
(1885); Life of Christ (1894); Evolution of Christianity (Lowell
Lectures, 1896J ; The Theology of an Evolutionist (1897); Chris-
tianity and Social Problems (1897) ; Life and Letters of Paul (1898) ;

ABBOTT ABAD— ABBREVIATION

The Life that Really is (1899); Problems of Life (1900); The Rights
of Man (1901) ; Henry Ward Beecher (1903) ; The Christian Ministry
(1905); The Personality of Cod (1905); Industrial Problems (1905);
and Christ's Secret of Happiness (1907). He edited Sermons of
Henry Ward Beecher (2 vols., 1868).

ABBOTTABAD, a town of British India, 4120 ft. above sea-
level, 63 m. from Rawalpindi, the headquarters of the Hazara
district in the N.W. Frontier Province, called after its founder,
Sir James Abbott, who settled this wild district after the annexa-
tion of the Punjab. It is an important military cantonment and
sanatorium, being the headquarters of a brigade in the second
division of the northern army corps. In 1901 the population of
the town and cantonment was 7764.

ABBREVIATION (Lat. brevis, short), strictly a shortening;
more particularly, an " abbreviation " is a letter or group of
letters, taken from a word or words, and employed to represent
them for the sake of brevity. Abbreviations, both of single
words and of phrases, having a meaning more or less fixed and
recognized, are common in ancient writings and inscriptions
(see Palaeography and Diplomatic), and very many are in
use at the present time. A distinction is to be observed between
abbreviations and the contractions that are frequently to be
met with in old manuscripts, and even in early printed books,
whereby letters are dropped out here and there, or particular
collocations of letters represented by somewhat arbitrary sym-
bols. The commonest form of abbreviation is the substitution
for a word of its initial letter; but, with a view to prevent
ambiguity, one or more of the other letters are frequently
added. Letters are often doubled to indicate a plural or a
superlative.

I. Classical Abbreviations. — The following list contains
a selection from the abbreviations that occur in the writings
and inscriptions of the Romans: —

A. Absolvo, Aedilis, Aes, Ager, Ago, Aio, Amicus, Annus,

Antiquo, Auctor, Auditor, Augustus, Aulus, Aurum,

Aut.
A.A. Aes alienum, Ante audita, Apud agrum, Aurum argentum.

AA. Augusti. AAA. Augusti tres.

A.A.A.F.F. Auro argento aere flando feriundo. 1
A.A.V. Alter ambove.
A.C. Acta causa, Alius civis.

A.D. Ante diem; e.g. A.D.V. Ante diem quintum.

A.D.A. Ad dandos agros.
AED. Aedes, Aedilis, Aedilitas.
AEM. and AIM. Aemilius, Aemilia.
AER. Aerarium. AER.P. Aere publico.
A-F. Actum fide, Auli filius.

AG. Ager, Ago, Agrippa.

A.G. Animo grato, Aulus Gellius.

A.L.AE. and A.L.E. Arbitrium litis aestimandae.
A.M. and A.MILL.Ad milliarium.
AN. Aniensis, Annus, Ante.

ANN. Annates, Anni, Annona.
ANT. Ante, Antonius.
A.O. Alii omnes, Amico optimo.

AP. Appius, Apud.

A.P. Ad pedes, Aedilitia potestate.

A.P.F. Auro (or argento) publico feriundo.
A.P.M. Amico posuit monumentum, Annorum plus minus.
A.P.R.C. Anno post Romam conditam.
ARG. Argentum.
AR.V.V.D.D. Aram votam volens dedicavit, Arma votiva dono

dedit.
AT. A tergo. Also A TE. and A TER.

A.T.M.D.O. Aio te mihi dare oportere.
AV. Augur, Augustus, Aurelius.

A.V. Annos vixit.

A.V.C. Ab urbe condita.
AVG. Augur, Augustus.

AVGG. Augusti (generally of two). AVGGG. Augusti tres.
AVT.PR.R. Auctoritas provinciae Romanorum.

B. Balbius, Balbus, Beatus, Bene, Beneficiarius, Beneficium,

Bonus, Brutus, Bustum.
B. for V. Berna Bivus, Bixit.

B.A. Bixit anos, Bonis auguriis, Bonus amabilis.

BB. or B.B. Bene bene, i.e. optime, Optimus.
B.D. Bonae deae, Bonum datum.

B.DD. Bonis deabus.

1 Describing the function of the triumviri monetales.

B.D.S.M. Bene de se merenti.

B.F. Bona femina, Bona fides, Bona fortuna, Bonum factum.

g.J. Bona femina, Bona filia.

B.H. Bona hereditaria, Bonorum hercs.

B.I. Bonum judicium. B.I.I. Boni judicis judicium.

B.M. Beatae memoriae, Bene merenti.

B.N. Bona nostra, Bonum nomen.

BN.H.I. Bona hie invenies.

B.P. Bona paterna, Bonorum potcstas, Bonum publicum.

B.Q. Bene quiescat, Bona quaesita.

B.RP.N. Bono reipublicae natus.

BRT. Britannicus.

B.T. Bonorum tutor, Brevi tempore.

B.V. Bene vale, Bene vixit, Bonus vir.

B.V.V. Balnea vina Venus.

BX. Bixit, for vixit.

C.
C. Caesar, Caius,Caput, Causa, Censor.Civis, Cohors, Colonia ,

Comitialis (dies), Condemno, Consul, Cum, Curo,

Custos. ,

C. Caia, Centuria, Cum, the prefix Con.

C.B. Civis bonus, Commune bonum, Conjugi benemerenti, Cui
bono.

C.C. Calumniae causa, Causa cognita, Conjugi carissimae, Con-
silium cepit, Curiae consulto.

C.C.C. Calumniae cavendae causa.

C.C.F. Caesar (or Caius) curavit faciendum, Caius Caii filius.

CC.W. Clarissimi viri.

CD. Caesaris decreto, Caius Decius, Comitialibus diebus.

CES. Censor, Censores. CESS. Censores.

C.F. Causa fiduciae, Conjugi fecit, Curavit faciendum.

C.H. Custos heredum, Custos hortorum.

C.I. Caius Julius, Consul jussit, Curavit judex.

CL. Clarissimus, Claudius, Clodius, Colonia.

CL.V. Clarissimus vir, Clypeum vovit.

CM. Caius Marius, Causa mortis.

CN. Cnaeus.

COH. Coheres, Cohors.

COL. Collega, Collegium, Colonia, Columna.

COLL. Collega, Coloni, Coloniae.

COM. Comes, Comitium, Comparatum.

CON. Conjux, Consensus, Consiliarius, Consul, Consularis.

COR. Cornelia (tribus), Cornelius, Corona, Corpus.

COS. Consiliarius, Consul, Consulares. COSS. Consules.

C.P. Carissimus or Clarissimus puer, Civis publicus, Curavit
ponendum.

C.R. Caius Rufus, Civis Romanus, Curavit reficiendum.

CS. Caesar, Communis, Consul.

C.V. Clarissimus or Consularis vir.

CVR. Cura, Curator, Curavit, Curia.

D. Dat, Dedit, &c, De, Decimus, Decius, Decretum, Decurio,

Deus, Dicit, &c, Dies, Divus, Dominus, Domus,

Donum.
D.C. Decurio coloniae, Diebus comitialibus, Divus Caesar.

D.D. Dea Dia.Decurionum decreto, Dedicavit, Deo dedit, Dono

dedit.
D.D.D. Datum decreto decurionum, Dono dedit dedicavit.
D.E.R. De ea re.
DES. Designatus.

D.I. Dedit imperator, Diis immortalibus, Diis inferis.

D.l.M. Deo invicto Mithrae, Diis inferis Manibus.
D.M. Deo Magno, Dignus memoria, Diis Manibus, Dolo malo.

D.O.M. Deo Optimo Maximo.
D.P.S. Dedit proprio sumptu, Deo perpetuo sacrum, De pecunia

sua.

E. Ejus, Eques, Erexit, Ergo, Est, Et, Etiam, Ex.
EG. Aeger, Egit, Egregius.

E.M. Egregiae memoriae, Ejusmodi, Erexit monumentum.

EQ.M. Equitum magister.
E.R.A. Ea res agitur.

F. Fabius, Facere, Fecit, &c, Familia, Fastus (dies), Felix,

Femina, Fides, Filius, Flamen, Fortuna, Frater, Fuit,

Functus.
F.C Faciendum curavit, Fidei commissum, Fiduciae causa.

F.D. Fidem dedit, Flamen Dialis, Fraude donavit.

F.F.F. Ferro flamma fame, Fortior fortuna fato.
FL. Filius, Flamen, Flaminius, Flavius.

F.L. Favete Unguis, Fecit libens, Felix liber.

FR. Forum, Fronte, Frumentarius.

F.R. Forum Romanum.

G. Gaius ( = Caius), Gallia, Gaudium, Gellius, Gemina, Gens,

Gesta, Gratia.
G.F. Gemina fidelis (applied to a legion). So G.P.F, Gemina

pia fidelis.

ABBREVIATION

GL. •

GN.

G.P.R.

HER.

H.L.

H.M.

H.S.E.

H.V.

IA.

I.C.

ID.

I.D.

I.D.M.

I.F.

I.H.

IM.

IMP.

I.O.M.

LP.

I.S.V.P.

K.
K.,

KAL.

LB.

L.D.D.D

LEG.

LIB.

LL.

L.M.

L.S.

LVD.

LV.P.F.

M'.

M.D.

MES.

M.F.

M.I.

Gloria.

Genius, Gens, Genus, Gnaeus ( = Cnaeus).

Genio populi Romani.

H.
Habet, Heres, Hie, Homo, Honor, Hora.
Heres, Herennius. HER. and HERC. Hercules.
Hac lege, Hoc loco, Honesto loco.
Hoc monumentum, Honesta mulier, Hora mala.
Hie sepultus est, Hie situs est.
Haec urbs, Hie vivit, Honeste vixit, Honestus vir.

Immortalis, Imperator, In, Infra, Inter, Invictus, Ipse,

Isis, Judex, Julius, Junius, Jupiter, Justus.
Jam, Intra.

Julius Caesar, Juris Consultum, Jus civile.
Idem, Idus, Interdum.

Inferis diis, Jovi dedicatum, Jus dicendum, Jussu Dei.
Jovi deo magno.
In foro, In fronte.

Jacet hie, In honestatem, Justus homo.
Imago, Immortalis, Immunis, Impensa.
Imperator, Imperium.
Jovi optimo maximo.

In publico, Intra provinciam, Justa persona.
Impensa sua vivus posuit.
K.
Kaeso, Caia, Calumnia, Caput, Carus, Castra.
and KL. Kalendae.

L.
Laelius, Legio, Lex, Libens, Liber, Libra, Locus, Lollius,

Lucius, Ludus.
Libens, Liberi, Libertus.
Locus datus decreto decurionum.
Legatus, Legio.

Liber, Liberalitas, Libertas, Libertus, Librarius.
Leges, Libentissime, Liberti.
Libens merito, Locus monumenti.
Laribus sacrum, Libens solvit, Locus sacer.
Ludus.
Ludos publicos fecit.

M.
Magister, Magistratus, Magnus, Manes, Marcus, Marius,

Marti, Mater.Memoria.Mensis, Miles, Monumentum,

Mortuus, Mucius, Mulier.
Manius.

Magno Deo, Manibus diis, Matri deum, Merenti dedit.
Mensis. MESS. Menses.
Mala fides, Marci Alius, Monumentum fecit.
Matri Idacae, Matri Isidi, Maximo Jovi.

MNT.andMQN. Moneta.

M.P. Male positus, Monumentum posuit.

M.S. Manibus sacrum, Memoriae sacrum, Manu scriptum.

MVN. Municeps, or municipium; so also MN., MV. and MVNIC.

M.V.S. Marti ultori sacrum, Merito votum solvit.

N.
N. Natio, Natus, Nefastus (dies), Nepos, Neptunus, Nero,

Nomen, Non, Nonae, Noster, Novus, Numen, Nume-

rius, Numerus, Nummus.
NEP. Nepos, Neptunus.
N.F.C. Nostrae fidei commissum.
N.L. Non licet, Non liquet, Non longe.

N.M.V. Nobilis memoriae vir.

NN. Nostri. NN., NNO. and NNR. Nostrorum.

NOB. Nobilis. NOB., NOBR. and NOV. Novembris.
N.P. Nefastus primo (i.e. priore parte diei), Non potest.

O.
O. Ob, Officium, Omnis, Oportet, Optimus, Opus, Ossa.

OB. Obiit, Obiter, Orbis.

O.C.S. Ob cives servatos.
O.H.F. Omnibus honoribus functus.
O.H.S.S. Ossa hie sita sunt.
OR. Hora, Ordo, Ornamentum.

O.T.B.Q. Ossa tua bene quiescant.

P.
P. Pars, Passus, Pater, Patronus, Pax, Perpetuus, Pes, Pius,

Plebs, Pondo, Populus, Post, Posuit, Praeses, Praetor,

Primus, Pro, Provincia, Publicus, Publius, Puer.
P.C. Pactum conventum, Patres conscripti, Pecunia consti-

tuta, Ponendum curavit, Post consulatum, Potestate

censoria.
P.F. Pia fidelis, Pius felix, Promissa fides, Publii filius.

P.M. Piae memoriae, Plus minus, Pontifex maximus.

P.P. Pater patratus, Pater patriae, Pecunia publica.Praepositus,

Primipilus, Propraetor.
PR. Praeses, Praetor, Pndie, Princeps.

P.R. Permissu reipublicae, Populus Romanus.

P.R.C. Post Romam conditam.

P.V.

Q.D.R.
Q.I.S.S.
QQ.
Q.R.

PR.PR. Praefectus praetorii. Propraetor.

P.S. Pecunia sua, Plebiscitum, Proprio sumptu, Publicae

saluti.
Pia victrix, Praefectus urbi, Praestantissimus vir.

Q-

Quaestor, Quando, Quantus, Que, Qui, Quinquennalis,

Quintus, Quirites.
Qua de re.

Quae infra scripta sunt; so Q.S.S.S. Quae supra, &c.
Quaecunque, Quinquennalis, Quoque.
Quaestor reipublicae.

R.
Recte, Res, Respublica, Retro, Rex, Ripa, Roma, Romanus,
Rufus, Rursus.
R.C. Romana civitas, Romanus civis.

RESP. and RP. Respublica.
RET.P. and RP. Retro pedes.

S.
S. Sacrum, Scriptus, Semis, Senatus, Sepultus, Servius,

Servus, Sextus, Sibi, Sine, Situs, Solus, Solvit, Sub,
Suus.
Sacerdos, Sacrificium, Sacrum.
Senatus consultum.
Sacrum diis, Salutem dicit, Senatus decreto, Sententiam

dedit.
Sacrum diis Manibus, Sine dolo malo.
Servius, Servus.
Sit ei terra levis.
Senatus, Sententia, Sine.
Sacerdos perpetua, Sine pecunia, Sua pecunia.
Senatus populusque Romanus.
Sanctissimus senatus, Supra scriptum.

SAC.

S.C.

S.D.

S.D.M.

SER.

S.E.T.L,

SN.

S.P.

S.P.Q.R

S.S.

S.V.B.E.E.Q.V. Si vales bene est, ego quidem valeo.

Terminus, Testamentum, Titus, Tribunus, Tu, Turma,
Tutor.
TI. and TIB. Tiberius.
TR. and TRB. Tribunus.

Testamentum fecit.Titi filius.Titulum fecit.Titus Flavius.

Terminus, Testamentum, Thermae.

Terminum posuit, Tribunicia potestate, Tribunus plebis.

Tullius, Tullus.

Urbs, Usus, Uxor, Vale, Verba, Vestalis, Vester, Vir,
Vivus, Vixit, Volo, Votum.

Veterano assignatus, Vixit annos.

Vale conjux, Vir clarissimus, Vir consularis.

Verum etiam, Vir egregius, Visum est.

Usus fructus, Verba fecit, Vivus fecit.

Urbis praefectus, Vir perfectissimus, Vivus posuit.

Urbs Roma, Uti rogas, Votum reddidit.

TB.
TB.
T.F
TM
T.P
TVL.

V.A.
V.C.
V.E.
V.F.
V.P.
V.R.

Abbreviations. — Of the different kinds of
use in the middle ages, the following are

II. Medieval
abbreviations in
examples : —
A.M. Ave Maria.

B.P. Beatus Paulus, Beatus Petrus.

CC. Carissimus (also plur. Carissimi), Clarissimus, Circum.

D. Deus, Dominicus, Dux.

D.N.PP. Dominus noster Papa.

FF. Felicissimus, Fratres, Pandectae (prob. for Gr. II).

I.C. or I.X. Jesus Christus.

I.D.N. In Dei nomine.

KK. Karissimus (or -mi).

MM. MagUtri, Martyres, Matrimonium, Meritissimus.

O.S.B. Ordinis Sancti Benedicti.

PP. Papa, Patres, Piissimus.

R.F. Rex Francorum.

R.P.D. Reverendissimus Pater Dominus.

S.C.M. Sacra Caesarea Majestas.

S.M.E. Sancta Mater Ecclesia.

S.M.M. Sancta Mater Maria.

S.R.I. Sanctum Romanum Imperium.

S.V. Sanctitas Vestra, Sancta Virgo.

V. Venerabilis, Venerandus.

V.R.P. Vestra Reverendissima Paternitas.

III. Abbreviations now in use. — The import of these
will often be readily understood from the connexion in which
they occur. There is no occasion to explain here the common
abbreviations used for Christian names, books of Scripture,
months of the year, points of the compass, grammatical and
mathematical terms, or familiar titles, like " Mr," &c.

The ordinary abbreviations, now or recently in use, may
be conveniently classified under the following headings: —

ABBREVIATION

1. Abbreviated Titles and Designations.

A.A. Associate of Arts.

A.B. Able-bodied seaman; (in America) Bachelor of Arts.

A.D.C. Aide-de-Camp.

A.M. (Artium Magister), Master of Arts.

A.R.A. Associate of the Royal Academy.

A.R.I. B.A. Associate of the Royal Institution of British Architects.

A.R.S.A. Associate of the Royal Scottish Academy.

B.A. Bachelor of Arts.

Bart. Baronet.

B.C.L. Bachelor of Civil Law.

B.D. Bachelor of Divinity.

B.LL. Bachelor of Laws.

B.Sc. Bachelor of Science.

C. Chairman.

C.A. Chartered Accountant.

C.B. Companion of the Bath.

C.E. Civil Engineer.

CLE. Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire.

CM. (Chirurgiae Magister), Master in Surgery.

C.M.G. Companion of St Michael and St George.

C.S.I. Companion of the Star of India.

D.C.L. Doctor of Civil Law.

D.D. Doctor of Divinity.

D.Lit. or Litt. D. Doctor of Literature.

D.M. Doctor of Medicine (Oxford).

D.Sc. Doctor of Science. _

D.S.O. Distinguished Service Order.

Ebor. (Eboracensis) of York. 1

F.C.S. Fellow of the Chemical Society.

F.D. (Fidei Defensor), Defender of the Faith.

F.F.P.S. Fellow of the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons

(Glasgow).

F.G.S. Fellow of the Geological Society.
F.K.Q.C.P.I.

F.L.S.

F.M.

F.P.S.

F.R.A.S.

F.R.C.P

Fellow of King and Queen's College of Physicians
"n Ireland.

Fellow of the Linnaean Society.

Field Marshal.

Fellow of the Philological Society.

Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians.
F.R.C.P. E. Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.
F.R.C.S. Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons.
F.R.G.S. Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.
F.R.H.S. Fellow of the Royal Horticultural Society.
F.R.Hist.Soc. Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
F.R.I. B.A. Fellow of the Royal Institution of British Architects.
F.R.S. Fellow of the Royal Society.
F.R.S.E. Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.

Fellow of the Statistical Society.

Fellow of the Zoological Society.

Knight Grand Cross of the Bath.

Knight Grand Cross of Hanover.

Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian
Empire.

G.C.M.G. Knight Grand Cross of St Michael and St George.
G.C.S.I. Knight Grand Commander of the Star of India.

Knight Grand Commander of the Victorian Order.

His or Her Highness.

His or Her Imperial Highness.

His or Her Imperial Majesty.

His or Her Majesty.

His or Her Royal Highness.

His or Her Serene Highness.

Judge.

(Juris Canonici Doctor, or Juris Chilis Doctor), Doctor of
Canon or Civil Law.

J.U.D. (Juris ictriusgue Doctor), Doctor of Civil and Canon Law.
•P. justice of the Peace.

King's Counsel.

Knight Commander of the Bath.

Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire.
K.C.M.G. Knight Commander of St Michael and St George.
K.C.S.I. Knight Commander of the Star of India.

Knight Commander of the Victorian Order.

Knight of the Garter.

Knight of St Patrick.

Knight of the Thistle.

Licentiate of the Apothecaries' Hall.

London County Council, or Councillor.

Lord Chief Justice.

F.R.S.L.

F.S.A.

F.S.S.

F.Z.S.

G.C.B.

G.C.H.

G.C.I.E.

G.C.V.O

H.H.

H.I.H.

H.I.M.

H.M.

H.R.H.

H.S.H.

jiCD.

.U.D.

.P.
K.C.
K.C.B.
K.C.I.

K.C.V.O.

K.G.

K.P.

K.T.

L.A.H.

L.C.C.

L.C.J.

1 An archbishop or bishop, in writing his signature, substitutes
for his surname the name of his see; thus the prelates of Canterbury,
York, Oxford, London, &c, subscribe themselves with their initials
(Christian names only), followed by Cantuar., Ebor., Oxon., Londin.
(sometimes London.), &c.

L.T. Lord Justice.

L.L.A. Lady Literate in Arts.

LL.B. (Leguin Baccalaureus), Bachelor of Laws.

LL.D. (Legum Doctor), Doctor of Laws.

LL.M. (Legum Magister), Master of Laws.

L.R.C.P. Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians.

L.R.C.S. Licentiate of the Royal College of Surgeons.

L.S.A. Licentiate of the Apothecaries' Society.

M.A. Master of Arts.

M.B. . (Medicinae Baccalaureus), Bachelor of Medicine.

M.C. Member of Congress.

M.D. (Medicinae Doctor), Doctor of Medicine.

M.lnst.C.E. Member of the Institute of Civil Engineers.

M.P. Member of Parliament.

M.R. Master of the Rolls.

M.R.C.P. Member of the Royal College of Physicians.

M.R.C.S. Member of the Royal College of Surgeons.

M.R.I.A. Member of the Royal Irish Academy.

Mus.B. Bachelor of Music.

Mus.D. Doctor of Music.

M.V.O. Member of the Victorian Order.

N.P. Notary Public.

O.M. Order of Merit.

P.C. Privy Councillor.

Ph.D. (Philosophiae Doctor), Doctor of Philosophy.

P.P. Parish Priest.

P.R.A. President of the Royal Academy.

R. (Rex, Regina), King, Queen.

R. & I. Rex et Imperator.

R.A. Royal Academician, Royal Artillery.

R.A.M. Royal Academy of Music.

R.E. Royal Engineers.

Reg. Prof. Regius Professor.

R.M. Royal Marines, Resident Magistrate.

R.N. Royal Navy.

S. or St. Saint.

S.S.C. Solicitor before the Supreme Courts [of Scotland] .

S.T.P. (Sacrosanctae Theologiae Professor), Professor of Sacred

Theology.
V.C. Vice-Chancellor, Victoria Cross.

V.G. Vicar-General.

V.S. Veterinary Surgeon.

W.S. Writer to the Signet [in Scotland]. Equivalent to Attorney.

2. Abbreviations Denoting Monies, Weights, and
Measures. 2

lb. or lb. (libra), pound (weight).

m. or mi. mile, minute.

Vt[. minim.

mo. month.

na. nail.

oz. ounce.

pk.

po.

pt.

qr.

qt.

ro.

Rs. 3 rupees.

s. or / (solidus), shilling.

s. or sec. second.

so or scr. scruple.

sq. ft. &c. square foot, &c.

st. stone.

yd. yard.

peck.

pole.

pint.

(quadrans), farthing.

quarter.

quart.

rood.

ac. acre,

bar. barrel,

bus. bushel,

c. cent.

c. (or cub.) ft. &c. cubic foot,&c.
cwt. hundredweight.

d. (denarius), penny,
deg. degree,
dr. drachm or dram,
dwt. pennyweight,
f. franc,
fl. florin,
ft. foot,
fur. furlong,
gal. gallon,
gr. grain,
h. or hr. hour,
hhd. hogshead,
in. inch,
kilo, kilometre.
L., 2 £, 2 or I. (libra), pound

(money).

3. Miscellaneous Abbreviations.

A. Accepted.

A.C. (Ante Christum), Before Christ.

ace, a/c. or acct. Account.

A.D. (Anno Domini), In the year of our Lord.

A.E.I.O.U. Austriae est imperare orbi universo, 4 or Alles Erdreich

1st Oesterreich Unterthan.
Aet. or Aetat. (Aetatis, [anno]), In the year of his age.
A.H. (Anno Hegirae), In the year of the Hegira (the Mohammedan

era).

2 Characters, not properly abbreviations, are used in the same
way; e.g. ° ' " for "degrees, minutes, seconds " (circular measure);
§, 3. 3 lor "ounces, drachms, scruples." § is probably to be traced
to the written form of the z in "oz."

* These forms (as well as $, the symbol for the American dollar)
are placed before their amounts.

* It is given to Austria to rule the whole earth. The device of
Austria, first adopted by Frederick III.

ABBREVIATORS— ABDALLATIF

A.M. (Anna Mundi), In the year of the world.

A.M. (Ante meridiem). Forenoon.

Anon. Anonymous.

A.U.C. (Anno urbis conditae), In the year from the building of the

city (i.e. Rome).
A.V. Authorized version of the Bible.

b. born.

B.V.M. The Blessed Virgin Mary.
B.C. Before Christ.

c. circa, about.

C. or Cap. (Caput), Chapter.

C. Centigrade (or Celsius's) Thermometer.

cent. 1 (Centum), A hundred, frequently £100.

Cf. or cp. (Confer), Compare.

Ch. or Chap. Chapter.

C.M.S. Church Missionary Society.

Co. Company, County.

C.O.D. Cash on Delivery.

Cr. Creditor.

curt. Current, the present month.

d. died.

D.G. (Dei gratia), By the grace of God.

Do. Ditto, the same.

D.O.M. (Deo Optimo Maximo), To God the Best and Greatest.

Dr. Debtor.

D.V. (Deo volente), God willing.

E.& O.E. Errors and omissions excepted.

e.g. (Exempli gratia). For example.

etc. or Sec. (Et caetera). And the rest; and so forth.

Ex. Example.

F. or Fahr. Fahrenheit's Thermometer.

Fee. (Fecit), He made (or did) it.

fl. Flourished.

Fo. or Fol. Folio.

f .o.b. Free on board.

G.P.O. General Post Office.

H.M.S. His Majesty's Ship, or Service.

lb. or Ibid. (Ibidem), In the same place.

Id. (Idem), The same.

i.e. (Id est). That is.

I.H.S. A symbol for "Jesus," derived from the first three letters
of the Greek (I II 2) ; the correct origin was lost sight
of, and the Romanized letters were then interpreted
erroneously as standing for Jesus, Hominum Salvator,
the Latin ' h " and Greek long " e " being confused.

I.M.D.G. (In majorem Dei gloriam), To the greater glory of God.

Inf. (Infra), Below.

Inst. Instant, the present month.

I.O.U. I owe you.

i.q. (Idem quod), The same as.

k.t.X. (koX to Xoura), Et caetera, and the rest.

L. or Lib. (Liber), Book.

Lat. Latitude.

I.e. (Loco citato), In the place cited.

Lon. or Long. Longitude.

L.S

Mem

MS.

N.B.

N.D.

nem.

No.

N.S.

N.T.

ob.

Obs.

(Locus sigilli), The place of the seal.
. (Memento), Remember, Memorandum.

Manuscript. MSS. Manuscripts.

(Nota bene), Mark well; take notice.

North Britain (i.e. Scotland).

No date. _
con. (Nemine contradicente), No one contradicting.

(Numero), Number.

New Style.

New Testament.

(Obiit), Died.

Obsolete.

O.H.M.S. On His Majesty's Service.
O.S. Old Style.

Ordo Sancti Benedicti (Benedictines).

Old Testament.

Page. Pp. Pages.

(Per), For; e.g. $ lb., For one pound.

(Pinxit), He painted it.

(Post Meridiem), Afternoon.

Post Office, Postal Order.

Post Office Order.

(Pour prendre conge). To take leave.

Prize-ring.

(Proximo [mense]). Next month.

Postscript.

Part,
p.t. or pro tern. (Pro tempore), For the time.
P.T.O. Please turn over.

or Qy. Query; Question.

(Quasi dicat), As if he should say; as much as to say.

(Quod erat demonstrandum), Which was to be demonstrated.

(Quod erat faciendum), Which was to be done.

O.S.B.

O.T.

Pinx.

P.M.

P.O.

P.O.O.

P.P,C.

P.R.

prox.

P.S.

Pt.

"Per cent." is often signified by%, a form traceable to "100."

q.s. or quant, suff. (Quantum sufficil). As much as is sufficient.

q.v. (Quod vide), Which see.

R. or U. (Recipe), lake.

V ( = r. for radix), The sign of the square root.

R.I. P. (Requiescat in pacel), May he rest in peace!

R.S.V.P. (Respondez s'il vous plait), Please reply.

sc. (Scilicet), Namely; that is to say.

Sc. or Sculp. (Sculpsit), He engraved it.

S.D.U.K. Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.

seq.or sq., seqq. or sqq. (Sequens, sequentia). The following.

S.J. Society of Jesus.

s.p. (Sine prole), Without offspring.

S.P.C.K. Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge.

S.P.G. Society for the Propagation of the Gospel.

S.T.D. )

S.T.B. v Doctor, Bachelor, Licentiate of Theology.

S.T.L. )

Sup. (Supra), Above.

s.v. (Sub voce), Under the word (or heading).

T.C.D. Trinity College, Dublin.

ult. (Ultimo [mense]), Last month.

U.S. United States.

U.S.A. United States of America.

v. (Versus), Against.

v. or vid. (Vide), See.

viz. (Videlicet), Namely.

Xmas. Christmas. This X is a Greek letter, corresponding to Ch.

See also Graevius's Thesaurus Antiquitatum (1694, sqq.); Nicolai's
Tractatus de Si^lis Veterum; Mommsen's Corpus Inscriptionum Lati-
narum (1863, sqq.); Natalis de Wailly's Paleographie (Paris, 1838);
Alph. Chassant's Paleographie (1854), and Dictionnaire des Abrevia-
tions (3rd ed. 1866); Campelli, Dizionario di Abbreviature (1899).

ABBREVIATORS, a body of writers in the papal chancery,
whose business was to sketch out and prepare in due form the
pope's bulls, briefs and consistorial decrees before these are
written out in extenso by the scriptores. They are first men-
tioned in Extravagantes of John XXII. and of Benedict XII.
Their number was fixed at seventy-two by Sixtus IV. From the
time of Benedict XII. (1334-1342) they were classed as de Parco
majori or Praesidentiae majoris, and de Parco minori. The name
was derived from a space in the chancery, surrounded by a
grating, in which the officials sat, which is called higher or lower
(major or minor) according to the proximity of the seats to that
of the vice-chancellor. After the protonotaries left the sketching
of the minutes to the abbreviators, those de Parco majori, who
ranked as prelates, were the most important officers of the
apostolic chancery. By Martin V. their signature was made
essential to the validity of the acts of the chancery; and they
obtained in course of time many important privileges'. They
were suppressed in 1908 by Pius X. and their duties were trans-
ferred to the protonotarii apostolici participates. (See Curia

ROMANA.)

ABDALLATIF, or Abd-ul-Latif (1162-1231), a celebrated
physician and traveller, and one of the most voluminous writers
of the East, was born at Bagdad in 11 62. An interesting memoir
of Abdallatif, written by himself, has been preserved with addi-
tions by Ibn-Abu-Osaiba (Ibn abl Usaibia), a contemporary.
From that work we learn that the higher education of the youth
of Bagdad consisted principally in a minute and careful study
of the rules and principles of grammar, and in their committing
to memory the whole of the Koran, a treatise or two on philology
and jurisprudence, and the choicest Arabian poetry. After
attaining to great proficiency in that kind of learning, Abdallatif
applied himself to natural philosophy and medicine. To enjoy
the society of the learned, he went first to Mosul (1189), and
afterwards to Damascus. With letters of recommendation
from Saladin's vizier, he visited Egypt, where the wish he had
long cherished to converse with Maimonides, " the Eagle of the
Doctors," was gratified. He afterwards formed one of the circle
of learned men whom Saladin gathered around him at Jerusalem.
He taught medicine and philosophy at Cairo and at Damascus
for a number of years, and afterwards, for a shorter period, at
Aleppo. His love of travel led him in his old age to visit different
parts of Armenia and Asia Minor, and he was setting out on a
pilgrimage to Mecca when he died at Bagdad in 1231. Abdal-
latif was undoubtedly a man of great knowledge and of an
inquisitive and penetrating mind. Of the numerous works —
mostly on medicine — which Osaiba ascribes to him, one only,

ABD-AR-RAHMAN

his graphic and detailed Account of Egypt (in two parts), appears
to be known in Europe. The manuscript, discovered by Edward
Pococke the Orientalist, and preserved in the Bodleian Library,
contains a vivid description of a famine caused, during the
author's residence in Egypt, by the Nile failing to overflow its
banks. It was translated into Latin by Professor White of
Oxford in 1800, and into French, with valuable notes, by De
Sacy in 1810.

ABD-AR-RAHMAN, the name borne by five princes of the
Omayyad dynasty, amirs and caliphs of Cordova, two of them
being rulers of great capacity.

Abd-ar-Rahman I. (756-788) was the founder of the branch
of the family which ruled for nearly three centuries in Mahom-
medan Spain. When the Omayyads were overthrown in the
East by the Abbasids he was a young man of about twenty
years of age. Together with his brother Yahya, he took refuge
with Bedouin tribes in the desert. The Abbasids hunted their
enemies down without mercy. Their soldiers overtook the
brothers; Yahya was slain, and Abd-ar-rahman saved himself
by fleeing first to Syria and thence to northern Africa, the
common refuge of all who endeavoured to get beyond the reach
of the Abbasids. In the general confusion of the caliphate
produced by the change of dynasty, Africa had fallen into the
hands of local rulers, formerly amirs or lieutenants of the Omay-
yad caliphs, but now aiming at independence. After a time
Abd-ar-rahman found that his life was threatened, and he fled
farther west, taking refuge among the Berber tribes of Mauri-
tania. In the midst of all his perils, which read like stories from
the Arabian Nights, Abd-ar-rahman had been encouraged by
reliance on a prophecy of his great-uncle Maslama that he would
restore the fortune of the family. He was followed in all his
wanderings by a few faithful clients of the Omayyads. In 755
he was in hiding near Ceuta, and thence he sent an agent over
to Spain to ask for the support of other clients of the family,
descendants of the conquerors of Spain, who were numerous
in the province of Elvira, the modern Granada. The country
was in a state of confusion under the weak rule of the amir
Yusef, a mere puppet in the hands of. a faction, and was torn by
tribal dissensions among the Arabs and by race conflicts be-
tween the Arabs and Berbers. It offered Abd-ar-rahman the
opportunity he had failed to find in Africa. On the invitation
of his partisans he landed at Almuflecar, to the east of Malaga,
in September 755. For a time he was compelled to submit to
be guided by his supporters, who were aware of the risks of their
venture. Yusef opened negotiations, and offered to give Abd-
ar-rahman one of his daughters in marriage and a grant of land.
This was far less than the prince meant to obtain, but he would
probably have been forced to accept the offer for want of a
better if the insolence of one of Yusef's messengers, a Spanish
renegade, had not outraged a chief partisan of the Omayyad
cause. He taunted this gentleman, Obeidullah by name, with
being unable to write good Arabic. Under this provocation
Obeidullah drew the sword. In the course of 756 a campaign
was fought in the valley of the Guadalquivir, which ended, on
the 16th of May, in the defeat of Yusef outside Cordova. Abd-
ar-rahman's army was so ill provided that he mounted almost
the only good war-horse in it; he had no banner, and one was
improvised by unwinding a green turban and binding it round
the head of a spear. The turban and the spear became the
banner of the Spanish Omayyads. The long reign of Abd-ar-
rahman I. was spent in a struggle to reduce his anarchical Arab
and Berber subjects to order. They had never meant to give
themselves a master, and they chafed under his hand, which
grew continually heavier. The details of these conflicts belong
to the general history of Spain. It is, however, part of the
personal history of Abd-ar-rahman that when in 763 he was
compelled to fight at the very gate of his capital with rebels
acting on behalf of the Abbasids, and had won a signal victory,
he cut off the heads of the leaders, filled them with salt and
camphor and sent them as a defiance to the eastern caliph.
His last years were spent amid a succession of palace conspiracies,
repressed with cruelty. Abd-ar-rahman grew embittered and

ferocious. He was a fine example of an oriental founder of a
dynasty, and did his work so well that the Omayyads lasted in
Spain for two centuries and a half.

Abd-ar-Rahman II. (822-852) was one of the weaker of
the Spanish Omayyads. He was a prince with a taste for music
and literature, whose reign was a time of confusion. It is chiefly
memorable for having included the story of the " Martyrs of
Cordova," one of the most remarkable passages in the religious
history of the middle ages.

Abd-ar-Rahman III. (912-961) was the greatest and the
most successful of the princes of his dynasty in Spain (for the
general history of his reign see Spain, History). He ascended the
throne when he was barely twenty-two and reigned for half a
century. His life was so completely identified with the govern-
ment of the state that he offers less material for biography than
his ancestor Abd-ar-rahman I. Yet it supplies some passages
which show the real character of an oriental dynasty even at its
best. Abd-ar-rahman III. was the grandson of his predecessor,
Abdallah, one of the weakest and worst of the Spanish Omayyads.
His father, Mahommed, was murdered by a brother Motarrif by
order of Abdallah. The old sultan was so far influenced by
humanity and remorse that he treated his grandson kindly.
Abd-ar-rahman III. came to the throne when the country was
exhausted by more than a generation of tribal conflict among
the Arabs, and of strife between them and the Mahommedans
of native Spanish descent. Spaniards who were openly or
secretly Christians had acted with the renegades. These ele-
ments, which formed the bulk of the population, were not
averse from supporting a strong ruler who would protect them
against the Arab aristocracy. These restless nobles were the
most serious of Abd-ar-rahman's enemies. Next to them came
the Fatimites of Egypt and northern Africa, who claimed the
caliphate, and who aimed at extending their rule over the
Mahommedan world, at least in the west. Abd-ar-rahman
subdued the nobles by means of a mercenary army, which in-
cluded Christians. He repelled the Fatimites, partly by sup-
porting their enemies in Africa, and partly by claiming the
caliphate for himself. His ancestors in Spain had been content
■with the title of sultan. The caliphate was thought only to
belong to the prince who ruled over the sacred cities of Mecca
and Medina. But the force of this tradition had been so far
weakened that Abd-ar-rahman could proclaim himself caliph
on the 16th of January 929, and the assumption of the title
gave him increased prestige with his subjects, both in Spain
and Africa. His worst enemies were always his fellow Mahom-
medans. After he was defeated by the Christians at Alhandega
in 939 through the treason of the Arab nobles in his army (see
Spain, History) he never again took the field. He is accused of
having sunk in his later years into the self-indulgent habits of
the harem. When the undoubted prosperity of his dominions
is quoted as an example of successful Mahommedan rule, it is
well to remember that he administered well not by means of
but in spite of Mahommedans. The high praise given to his
administration may even excite some doubts as to its real ex-
cellence. We are told that a third of his revenue sufficed for
the ordinary expenses of government, a third was hoarded
and a third spent on buildings. A very large proportion of the
surplus must have been wasted on the palace-town of Zahra,
built three miles to the north of Cordova, and named after a
favourite concubine. Ten thousand workmen are said to have
been employed for twenty-five years on this wonder, of which
no trace now remains. The great monument of early Arabic
architecture in Spain, the mosque of Cordova, was built by his
predecessors, not by him. It is said that his harem included
six thousand women. Abd-ar-rahman was tolerant, but it is
highly probable that he was very indifferent in religion, and it
is certain that he was a thorough despot. One of the most
authentic sayings attributed to him is his criticism of Otto I. of
Germany, recorded by Otto's ambassador, Johann, abbot of
Gorze, who has left in his Vita an incomplete account of his
embassy (in Pertz, Mon. Germ. Scriptores, iv. 355-377). He
blamed the king of Germany for trusting his nobles, which he said

ABD-EL-AZIZ IV.— ABD-EL-KADER

could only increase their pride and leaning to rebellion. His
confession that he had known only twenty happy days in his
long reign is perhaps a moral tale, to be classed with the " omnia
fui, el nil expedil " of Septimius Severus.

In the agony of the Omayyad dynasty in Spain, two princes
of the house were proclaimed caliphs for a very short time,
Abd-ar-rahman IV. Mortada (1017), and Abd-ar-rahman V.
Mostadir (1023-1024). Both were the mere puppets of factions,
who deserted them at once. Abd-ar-rahman IV. was murdered
in the year in which he was proclaimed, at Guadiz, when fleeing
from a battle in which he had been deserted by his supporters.
Abd-ar-rahman V. was proclaimed caliph in December 1023 at
Cordova, and murdered in January 1024 by a mob of unemployed
workmen, headed by one of his own cousins.

The history of the Omayyads in Spain is the subject of the Histoire
des Musulmans d'Espagne, by R. Dozy (Leiden, 1861). (D. H.)

ABD-EL-AZIZ IV. (1880- ), sultan of Morocco, son of
Sultan Mulai el Hasan III. by a Circassian wife. He was fourteen
years of age on his father's death in 1894. By the wise action
of Si Ahmad bin Musa, the chamberlain of El Hasan, Abd-el-
Aziz's accession to the sultanate was ensured with hut little
fighting. Si Ahmad became regent and for six years showed
himself a capable ruler. On his death in 1900 the regency
ended, and Abd-el-Aziz took the reins of government into his
own hands, with an Arab from the south, El Menebhi, for his
chief adviser. Urged by his Circassian mother, the sultan
sought advice and counsel from Europe and endeavoured to
act up to it. But disinterested advice was difficult to obtain,
and in spite of the unquestionable desire of the young ruler to
do the best for the country, wild extravagance both in action
and expenditure resulted, leaving the sultan with depleted
exchequer and the confidence of his people impaired. His in-
timacy with foreigners and his imitation of their ways were
sufficient to rouse fanaticism and create dissatisfaction. His
attempt to reorganize the finances by the systematic levy of
taxes was hailed with delight, but the government was not
strong enough to carry the measures through, and the money
which should have been used to pay the taxes was employed to
purchase firearms. Thus the benign intentions of Mulai Abd-
el-Aziz were interpreted as weakness, and Europeans were
accused of having spoiled the" sultan and of being desirous of
spoiling the country. When British engineers were employed
to survey the route for a railway between Mequinez and Fez,
this was reported as indicating an absolute sale of the country.
The fanaticism of the people was aroused, and a revolt broke
out near the Algerian frontier. Such was the condition of
things when the news of the Anglo-French Agreement of 1904
came as a blow to Abd-el-Aziz, who had relied on England for
support and protection against the inroads of France. On the
advice of Germany he proposed the assembly of an international
conference at Algeciras in 1906 to consult upon methods of
reform, the sultan's desire being to ensuie a condition of affairs
which would leave foreigners with no excuse for interference in
the control of the country, and would promote its welfare,
which Abd-el-Aziz had earnestly desired from his accession to
power. The sultan gave his adherence to the Act of the Algeciras
Conference, but the state of anarachy into which Morocco fell
during the latter half of 1906 and the beginning of 1907 showed
that the young ruler lacked strength sufficient to make his will
respected by his turbulent subjects. In May 1907 the southern
tribes invited Mulai Hafid, an elder brother of Abd-el-Aziz, and
viceroy at Marrakesh, to become sultan, and in the following
August Hafid was proclaimed sovereign there with all the
usual formalities. In the meantime the murder of Europeans
at Casablanca had led to the occupation of that port by France.
In September Abd-el-Aziz arrived at Rabat from Fez and
endeavoured to secure the support of the European powers
against his brother. From France he accepted the grand
cordon of the Legion of Honour, and was later enabled to
negotiate a loan. His leaning to Christians aroused further
opposition to his rule, and in January 1908 he was declared
deposed by the ulema of Fez, who offered the throne to Hafid.

After months of inactivity Abd-el-Aziz made an effort to re-
store his authority, and quitting Rabat in July he marched
on Marrakesh. His force, largely owing to treachery, was com-
pletely overthrown (August 19th) when near that city, and
Abd-el-Aziz fled to Settat within the French lines round Cas-
ablanca. In November he came to terms with his brother,
and thereafter took up his residence in Tangier as a pensioner
of the new sultan. He declared himself more than reconciled
to the loss of the throne, and as looking forward to a quiet,
peaceful life. (See Morocco, History.)

ABD-EL-KADER (c. 1807-1883), amir of Mascara, the great
opponent of the conquest of Algeria by France, was born near
Mascara in 1807 or 1808. His family were sherifs or descend-
ants of Mahomet, and his father, Mahi-ed-Din, was celebrated
throughout North Africa for his piety and charity. Abd-el-
Kader received the best education attainable by a Mussulman
of princely rank, especially in theology and philosophy, in
horsemanship and in other manly exercises. While still a youth
he was taken by his father on the pilgrimage to Mecca and
Medina and to the tomb of Sidi Abd-el-Kader El Jalili at Bag-
dad — events which stimulated his natural tendency to religious
enthusiasm. While in Egypt in 1827, Abd-el-Kader is stated
to have been impressed, by the reforms then being carried out
by Mehemet AH, with the value of European civilization, and the
knowledge he then gained affected his career. Mahi-ed-Din and
his son returned to Mascara shortly before the French occupa-
tion of Algiers (July 1830) destroyed the government of the Dey.
Coming forward as the champion of Islam against the infidels,
Abd-el-Kader was proclaimed amir at Mascara in 1832. He
prosecuted the war against France vigorously and in a short
time had rallied to his standard all the tribes of western Algeria.
The story of his fifteen years' struggle against the French is
given under Algeria. To the beginning of 1842 the contest
went in favour of the amir; thereafter he found in Marshal
Bugeaud an opponent who proved, in the end, his master.
Throughout this period Abd-el-Kader showed himself a born
leader of men, a great soldier, a capable administrator, a per-
suasive orator, a chivalrous opponent. His fervent faith in the
doctrines of Islam was unquestioned, and his ultimate failure
was due in considerable measure to the refusal of the Kabyles,
Berber mountain tribes whose Mahommedanism is somewhat
loosely held, to make common cause with the Arabs against the
French. On the 21st of December 1847, the amir gave himself
up to General Lamoriciere at Sidi Brahim. On the 23rd, his
submission was formally made to the due d'Aumale, then
governor of Algeria. In violation of the promise that he would
be allowed to go to Alexandria or St Jean d'Acre, on the faith
of which he surrendered, Abd-el-Kader and his family were
detained in France, first at Toulon, then at Pau, being in
November 1848 transferred to the chateau of Amboise. There
Abd-el-Kader remained until October 1852, when he was re-
leased by Napoleon III. on taking an oath never again to dis-
turb Algeria. The amir then took up his residence in Brusa,
removing in 1855 to Damascus. In July i860, when the Moslems
of that city, taking advantage of disturbances among the Druses
of Lebanon, attacked the Christian quarter and killed over
3000 persons, Abd-el-Kader helped to repress the outbreak
and saved large numbers of Christians. For this action the
French government, which granted the amir a pension of £4000,
bestowed on him the grand cross of the Legion of Honour. In
1865, he visited Paris and London, and was again in Paris at
the exposition of 1867. In 1871, when the Algerians again rose
in revolt, Abd-el-Kader wrote to them counselling submission to
France. After his surrender in 1847 he devoted himself anew
to theology and philosophy, and composed a philosophical
treatise, of which a French translation was published in 1858
under the title of Rappel d I' intelligent. Avis a I'indifffrent.
He also wrote a book on the Arab horse. He died at Damascus
on the 26th of May 1883.

See Commdt. J. Pichon, Abd el Kader, 1807-1883 (Paris [1899]);
Alex. Bellemare, Abd-el-Kader: sa vie politique ct militaire (Paris,
1863) ; Col. C. H. Churchill, The Life of Abdel Kader (London, 1867).

ABDERA— ABDOMEN

ABDERA, an ancient seaport town on the south coast of
Spain, between Malaca and New Carthage, in the district in-
habited by the Bastuli. -It was founded by the Carthaginians
as a trading station, and after a period of decline became under
the Romans one of the more important towns in the province
of Hispania Baetica. It was situated on a hill above the modern
Adra (q.v.). Of its coins the most ancient bear the Phoenician
inscription abdrt with the head of Heracles (Melkarth) and a
tunny-fish; those of Tiberius (who seems to have made the
place a colony) show the chief temple of the town with two
tunny-fish erect in the form of columns. For inscriptions re-
lating to the Roman municipality see C.I.L. ii. 267.

ABDERA, a town on the coast of Thrace near the mouth of
the Nestos, and almost opposite Thasos. Its mythical founda-
tion was attributed to Heracles, its historical to a colony from
Clazomenae in the 7th century B.C. But its prosperity dates
from 544 B.C., when the majority of the people of Teos migrated
to Abdera after the Ionian revolt to escape the Persian yoke
(Herod, i. 168); the chief coin type, a gryphon, is identical
with that of Teos; the coinage is noted for the beauty and
variety of its reverse types. The town seems to have declined
in importance after the middle of the 4th century. The air of
Abdera was proverbial as causing stupidity; but among its
citizens was the philosopher Democritus. The ruins of the
town may still be seen on Cape Balastra; they cover seven
small hills, and extend from an eastern to a western harbour;
on the S.W. hills are the remains of the medieval settlement of
Polystylon.

Mittheii. d. deutsch. Inst. Athens, xii. (1887), p. 161 (Regel);
Mem. de I' A cad. des Inscriptions, xxxix. 211; K. F. Hermann, Ges.
Abh. 90-1 1 1, 370 ff.

ABDICATION (Lat. abdicatio, disowning, renouncing, from
ab, from, and dicare, to declare, to proclaim as not belonging
to one), the act whereby a person in office renounces and gives
up the same before the expiry of the time for which it is held.
In Roman law, the term is especially applied to the disowning
of a member of a family, as the disinheriting of a son, but the
word is seldom used except in the sense of surrendering the
supreme power in a state. Despotic sovereigns are at liberty
to divest themselves of their powers at any time, but it is other-
wise with a limited monarchy. The throne of Great Britain
cannot be lawfully abdicated unless with the consent of the two
Houses of Parliament. When James II., after throwing the great
seal into the Thames, fled to France in 1688, he did not formally
resign the crown, and the question was discussed in parliament
whether he had forfeited the throne or had abdicated. The
latter designation was agreed on, for in a full assembly of the
Lords and Commons, met in convention, it was resolved, in
spite of James's protest, " that King James II. having endea-
voured to subvert the constitution of the kingdom, by breaking
the original contract between king and people, and, by the
advice of Jesuits and other wicked persons, having violated
the fundamental laws, and having withdrawn himself out of
this kingdom, has abdicated the government, and that the
throne is thereby vacant." The Scottish parliament pronounced
a decree of forfeiture and deposition. Among the most memor-
able abdications of antiquity may be mentioned that of Sulla
the dictator, 79 B.C., and that of the Emperor Diocletian, a.d.
305. The following is a list of the more important abdications
of later times : —

A.D.

Benedict IX., pope 1048

Stephen II. of Hungary 1131

Albert (the Bear) of Brandenburg 1 169

Ladislaus III. of Poland 1206

Celestine V., pope . .' Dec. 13, 1294

John Baliol of Scotland 1296

John Cantacuzene, emperor of the East .... 1355

Richard II. of England Sept. 29, 1399

John XXII I., pope 1415

Eric VII. of Denmark and XIII. of Sweden . . . 1439

Murad II., Ottoman Sultan 1444 and 1445

Charles V., emperor 1556

Christina of Sweden 1654

John Casimir of Poland 1668

James II. of England

Frederick Augustus of Poland

Philip V. of Spain

Victor Amadeus II. of Sardinia

Ahmed III., Sultan of Turkey .

Charles of Naples (on accession to throne of Spain) .

Stanislaus II. of Poland

Charles Emanuel IV. of Sardinia
Charles IV. of Spain .
Joseph Bonaparte of Naples .
Gustavus IV. of Sweden .
Louis Bonaparte of Holland .
Napoleon I., French Emperor .
Victor Emanuel of Sardinia
Charles X. of France
Pedro of Brazil l
Miguel of Portgual .
William I. of Holland

Louis Philippe, king of the French
Louis Charles of Bavaria .
Ferdinand of Austria
Charles Albert of Sardinia
Leopold II. of Tuscany .
Isabella II. of Spain . . .
Amadeus I. of Spain .
Alexander of Bulgaria
Milan of Servia

A.D.

1688
1704
1724
1730
1730
1759
1795

June 4, 1802

Mar. 19, 1808

June 6, 1808

Mar. 29, 1809

July 2, 1810

April 4, 1814, and June 22, 1815

Mar. 13, 1821

Aug. 2, 1830

.... April 7, 1831

May 26, 1834

Oct. 7, 1840

I. 2

Feb. 24, 18
Mar. 21, 1848
Dec. 2, 1848
Mar. 23, 1849
July 21, 1859
June 25, 1870
Feb. 11, 1873
Sept. 7, 1886
Mar. 6, 1889

ABDOMEN (a Latin word, either from abdere, to hide, or from
a form adipomen, from adeps, fat), the belly, the region of the
body containing most of the digestive organs. (See for ana-
tomical details the articles Alimentary Canal, and Anatomy,
Superficial and Artistic.)

Abdominal Surgery. — The diseases affecting this region
are dealt with generally in the article Digestive Organs, and
under their own names (e.g. Appendicitis). The term " ab-
dominal surgery " covers generally the operations which involve
opening the abdominal cavity, and in modern times this field of
work has been greatly extended. In this Encyclopaedia the
surgery of each abdominal organ is dealt with, for the most
part, in connexion with the anatomical description of that
organ (see Stomach, Kidney, Liver, &c.) ; but here the general
principles of abdominal surgery may be discussed.

Exploratory Laparotomy. — In many cases of serious intra-
abdominal disease it is impossible for the surgeon to say exactly
what is wrong without making an incision and introducing his
finger, or, if need be, his hand among the intestines. With due
care this is not a perilous or serious procedure, and the great ad-
vantage appertaining to it is daily being more fully recognized.
It was Dr Oliver Wendell Holmes, the American physiologist
and poet, who remarked that one cannot say of what wood a
table is made without lifting up the cloth; so also it is often
impossible to say what is wrong inside the abdomen without
making an opening into it. When an opening is made in such
circumstances — provided only it is done soon enough — the
successful treatment of the case often becomes a simple matter.
An exploratory operation, therefore, should be promptly resorted
to as a means of diagnosis, and not left as a last resource till the
outlook is well-nigh hopeless.

It is probable that if the question were put to any experienced
hospital surgeon if he had often had cause to regret having
advised recourse to an exploratory operation on the abdomen,
his answer would be in the negative, but that, on the other hand,
he had not infrequently had cause to regret that he had not
resorted to it, post-mortem examination having shown that if
only he had insisted on an exploration being made, some band,
some adhesion, some tumour, some abscess might have been
satisfactorily dealt with, which, left unsuspected in the dark
cavity, was accountable for the death. A physician hy himself
is helpless in these cases.

Much of the rapid advance which has of late been made in
the results of abdominal surgery is due to the improved rela-
tionship which exists between the public and the surgical pro-
fession. In former days it was not infrequently said, " If a
surgeon is called in he is sure to operate." Not only have the

1 Pedro had succeeded to the throne of Portugal in 1826, but
abdicated it at once in favour of his daughter.

ABDOMEN

public said this, but even physicians have been known to suggest
it, and have indeed used the equivocal expression, the " apothe-
osis of surgery," in connexion with the operative treatment of
a serious abdominal lesion. But fortunately the public have
found out that the surgeon, being an honest man, does not
advise operation unless he beh'eves that it is necessary or, at
any rate, highly advisable. And this happy discovery has led
to much more confidence being placed in his decision. It has
truly been said that a surgeon is a physician who can operate,
and the public have begun to realize the fact that it is useless
to try to relieve an acute abdominal lesion by diet or drugs.
Not many years ago cases of acute, obscure or chronic affections
of the abdomen which were admitted into hospital were sent
as a matter of course into the medical wards, and after the
effect of drugs had been tried with expectancy and failure, the
services of a surgeon were called in. In acute cases this delay
spoilt all surgical chances, and the idea was more widely spread
that surgery, after all, was a poor handmaid to medicine. But
now things are different. Acute or obscure abdominal cases are
promptly relegated to the surgical wards; the surgeon is at once
sent for, and if operation is thought desirable it is performed
without any delay. The public have found that the surgeon is
not a reckless operator, but a man who can take a broad view
of a case in all its bearings. And so it has come about that the
results of operations upon the interior of the abdomen have
been improving day by day. And doubtless they will continue
to improve.

A great impetus was given to the surgery of wounded, morti-
fied or diseased pieces of intestine by the introduction from
Chicago of an ingenious contrivance named, after the inventor,
Murphy's button. This consists of a short nickel-plated tube in
two pieces, which are rapidly secured in the divided ends of the
bowel, and in such a manner that when the pieces are subse-
quently " married " the adjusted ends of the bowel are securely
fixed together and the canal rendered practicable. In the course
of time the button loosens itself into the interior of the bowel
and comes away with the alvine evacuation. In many other
cases the use of the button has proved convenient and successful,
as in the establishment of a permanent communication between
the stomach and the small intestine when the ordinary gateway
between these parts of the alimentary canal is obstructed by
an irremovable malignant growth; between two parts of the
small intestine so that some obstruction may be passed; be-
tween small and large intestine. The operative procedure goes
by the name of short-circuiting; it enables the contents of the
bowel to get beyond an obstruction. In this way also a perma-
nent working communication can be set up between the gall-
bladder, or a dilated bile-duct, and the neighbouring small
intestine — the last-named operation bears the precise but
very clumsy name of choledocoduodenostomy. By the use of
Murphy's ingenious apparatus the communication of two parts
can be secured in the shortest possible space of time, and this,
in many of the cases in which it is resorted to, is of the greatest
importance. But there is this against the method — that some-
times ulceration occurs around the rim of the metal button,
whilst at others the loosened metal causes annoyance in its
passage along the alimentary canal. Some surgeons therefore
prefer to use a bobbin of decalcified bone or similar soft material,
while others rely upon direct suturing of the parts. The last-
named method is gradually increasing in popularity, and of
course, when time and circumstances permit, it is the ideal
method of treatment.^The cause of death in the case of intestinal
obstruction is usually due to the blood being poisoned by the
absorption of the products of decomposition of the fluid contents
of the bowel above the obstruction. It is now the custom,
therefore, for the surgeon to complete his operation for the relief
of obstruction by drawing out a loop of the distended bowel,
incising and evacuating it, and then carefully suturing and
returning it. The surgeon who first recognized the' lethal effect
of the absorption of this stagnant fluid — or, at any rate, who
first suggested the proper method of treating it — was Lawson
Tait of Birmingham, who on the occurrence of grave symptoms

after operating on the abdomen gave small, repeated doses of
Epsom salts to wash away the harmful liquids of the bowel
and to enable it at the same time- to empty itself of the
gas, which, by distending the intestines, was interfering with
respiration and circulation.

Amongst still more recent improvements in abdominal
surgery may be mentioned the placing of the patient in the
sitting position as soon as practicable after the operation, and
the slow administration of a hot saline solution into the lower
bowel, or, in the more desperate cases, of injecting pints of
this " normal saline " fluid into the loose tissue of the armpit.
Hot water thus administered or injected is quickly taken into
the blood, increasing its volume, diluting its impurities and
quenching the great thirst which is so marked a symptom in
this condition.

Gunshot Wounds of the Abdomen. — If a revolver bullet passes
through the abdomen, the coils of intestine are likely to be
traversed by it in several places. If the bullet be small and, by
chance, surgically clean, it is possible that the openings may
tightly close up behind it so that no leakage takes place into
the general peritoneal cavity. If increasing collapse suggests
that serious bleeding is occurring within the abdomen, the cavity
is opened forthwith and a thorough exploration made. When
it is uncertain if the bowel has been traversed or not, it is well
to wait before opening the abdomen, due preparation being
made for performing that operation on the first appearance of
symptoms indicative of perforation having occurred. Small
perforating wounds of the bowel are treated by such suturing
as the circumstances may suggest, the interior of the abdominal
cavity being rendered as free from septic micro-organisms as
possible. It is by the malign influence of such germs that a
fatal issue is determined in the case of an abdominal wound,
whether inflicted by firearms or by a pointed weapon. If
aseptic procedure can be promptly resorted to and thoroughly
carried out, abdominal wounds do well, but these essentials
cannot be obtained upon the field of battle. When after an
action wounded men come pouring into the field-hospital, the
many cannot be kept waiting whilst preparations are being
made for the thorough carrying out of a prolonged aseptic
abdominal operation upon a solitary case. Experience in the
South African war of 1899^1902 showed that Mauser bullets
could pierce coils of intestine and leave the soldiers in such a
condition that, if treated by mere " expectancy," more than
50 % recovered, whereas if operations were resorted to, fatal
septic peritonitis was likely to ensue. In the close proximity of
the fight, where time, assistants, pure water, towels, lotions
and other necessaries for carrying out a thoroughly aseptic
operation cannot be forthcoming, gunshot wounds of the ab-
domen had best not be interfered with.

Stabs of the abdomen are serious if they have penetrated the
abdominal wall, as, at the time of injury, septic germs may
have been introduced, or the bowel may have been wounded.
In either case a fatal inflammation of the peritoneum may be
set up. It is inadvisable to probe a wound in order to find out
if the belly-cavity has been penetrated, as the probe itself might
carry inwards septic germs. In case of doubt it is better to en-
large the wound in order to determine its depth, and to disinfect
and close it if it be non-penetrating. If, however, the belly-
cavity has been opened, the neighbouring pieces of bowel should
be examined, cleansed and, if need be, sutured. Should there
have been an escape of the contents of the bowel the " toilet of
the peritoneum " would be duly made, and a drainage-tube
would be left in. If the stab had injured a large blood-vessel
either of the abdominal cavity, or of the liver or of some other
organ, the bleeding would be arrested by ligature or suture,
and the extravasated blood sponged out. Before the days of
antiseptic surgery, and of exploratory abdominal operations,
these cases were generally allowed to drift to almost certain
death, unrecognized and almost untreated : at the present time
a large number of them are saved.

Intussusception. — This is a terribly fatal disease of infants and
children, in which a piece of bowel slips into, and is gripped by,

ABDUCTION— ABD-UL-HAMID II.

the piece next below it. Formerly it was generally the custom
to endeavour to reduce the invagination by passing air or water
up the rectum under pressure — a speculative method of treat-
ment which sometimes ended in a fatal rupture of the distended
bowel, and often — one might almost say generally — failed to do
what was expected of it. The teaching of modern surgery is
that a small incision into the abdomen and a prompt withdrawal
of the invaginated piece of bowel can be trusted to do all that,
and more than, injection can effect, without blindly risking a
rupture of the bowel. It is certain that when the surgeon is
unable to unravel the bowel with his fingers gently applied to
the parts themselves, no speculative distension of the bowel
could have been effective. But the outlook in these distressing
cases, even when the operation is promptly resorted to, is ex-
tremely grave, hecause of the intensity of the shock which the
intussusception and resulting strangulation entail. Still, every
operation gives them by far the hest chance.

Cancer of the Intestine. — With the introduction of aseptic
methods of operating, it has been found that the surgeon can
reach the bowel through the peritoneum easily and safely. With
the peritoneum opened, moreover, he can explore the diseased
bowel and deal with it as circumstances suggest. If the can-
cerous mass is fairly movable the affected piece of bowel is
excised and the cut ends are spliced together, and the continuity
of the alimentary canal is permanently re-established. Thus
in the case of cancer of the large intestine which is not too far
advanced, the surgeon expects to be able not only to relieve
the obstruction of the howel, hut actually to cure the patient
of his disease. When the lowest part of the howel was found
to be occupied by a cancerous obstruction, the surgeon used
formerly to secure an easy escape for the contents of the howel
by making an opening into the colon in the left loin. But in
recent years this operation of lumbar colotomy has been almost
entirely replaced by opening the colon in the left groin. This
operation of inguinal colotomy is usually divided into two stages:
a loop of the large intestine is first drawn out through the ab-
dominal wound and secured by stitches, and a few days after-
wards, when it is firmly glued in place by adhesive inflammation,
it is cut across, so that subsequently the motions can no longer
find their way into the bowel below the artificial anus. If at
the first stage of the operation symptoms of obstruction are
urgent, one of the ingenious glass tubes with a rubber conduit,
which Mr F. T. Paul has invented, may be forthwith introduced
into the distended bowel, so that the contents may he allowed
to escape without fear of soiling the peritoneum or even the
surface-wound. (E. O.*)

ABDUCTION (Lat. abductio, abducere, to lead away), a law
term denoting the forcible or fraudulent removal of a person,
limited by custom to the case where a woman is the victim.
In the case of men or children, it has been usual to substitute
the term kidnapping (q.v.). The old English laws against abduc-
tion, generally contemplating its object as the possession of an
heiress and her fortune, have been repealed by the Offences
against the Person Act 1861, which makes it felony for any one
from motives of lucre to take away or detain against her will,
with intent to marry or carnally know her, &c, any woman
of any age who has any interest in any real or personal estate,
or is an heiress presumptive, or co-heiress, or presumptive next
of kin to any one having such an interest; or for any one to
cause such a woman to be married or carnally known by any
other person; or for any one with such intent to allure, take
away, or detain any such woman under the age of twenty-one,
out of the possession and against the will of her parents or
guardians. By s. 54, forcible taking away or detention against
lier will of any woman of any age with like intent is felony.
The same act makes abduction without even any such intent a
lisdemeanour, where an unmarried girl under the age of six-
een is unlawfully taken out of the possession and against the
vill of her parents or guardians. In such a case the girl's con-
ent is immaterial, nor is it a defence that the person charged
easonably believed that the girl was sixteeq or over. The
Criminal Law Amendment Act 1883 made still more stringent

provisions with reference to abduction by making the procura-
tion or attempted procuration of any virtuous female under
the age of twenty-one years a misdemeanour, as well as the
abduction of any girl under eighteen years of age with the intent
that she shall be carnally known, or the detaining of any female
against her will on any premises, with intent to have, or that
another person may have, carnal knowledge of her. In Scotland,
where there is no statutory adjustment, ahduction is similarly
dealt with by practice.

ABD-UL-AZIZ (1830-1876), sultan of Turkey, son of Sultan
Mahmud II., was born on the 9th of February 1830, and suc-
ceeded his brother Abd-ul-Mejid in 1861. His personal in-
terference in government affairs was not very marked, and
extended to little more than taking astute advantage of the
constant issue of State loans during his reign to acquire wealth,
which was squandered in building useless palaces and in other
futile ways: he is even said to have profited, by means of
"bear" sales, from the default on the Turkish deht in 1875
and the consequent fall in prices. Another source of revenue
was afforded by Ismail Pasha, the khedive of Egypt, who paid
heavily in bakshish for the firman of 1866, by which the succes-
sion to the khedivate was made hereditary from father to son
in direct line and in order of primogeniture, as well as for the
subsequent firmans of 1867, 1869 and 1872 extending the
khedive's prerogatives. It is, however, only fair to add that
the sultan was douhtless influenced by the desire to bring
about a similar change in the succession to the Ottoman
throne and to ensure the succession after him of his eldest
son, Yussuf Izz-ed-din. Abd-ul-Aziz visited Europe in 1867,
heing the first Ottoman sultan to do so, and was made a Knight
of the Garter by Queen Victoria. In 1869 he received the visits
of the emperor of Austria, the Empress Eugenie and other
foreign princes, on their way to the opening of the Suez Canal,
and King Edward VII., while prince of Wales, twice visited
Constantinople during his reign. The mis-government and
financial straits of the country brought on the outbreak of
Mussulman discontent and fanaticism which eventually culmi-
nated in the murder of two consuls at Salonica and in the
"Bulgarian atrocities," and cost Abd-ul-Aziz his throne. His
deposition on the 30th of May 1876 was hailed with joy through-
out Turkey; a fortnight later he was found dead in the palace
where he was confined, and trustworthy medical evidence
attributed his death to suicide. Six children survived him:
Prince Yussuf Izz-ed-din, born 1857; Princess Saliha, wife of
Kurd Ismail Pasha; Princess Nazime, wife of Khalid Pasha;
Prince Abd-ul-Mejid, born 1869; Prince Seif-ed-din, born
1876; Princess Emine, wife of Mahommed Bey; Prince Shefket,
born 1872, died 1899.

ABD-UL-HAMID I. 1(1725-1789), sultan of Turkey, son of
Ahmed III., succeeded his hrother Mustafa III. in 1773. Long
confinement in the palace aloof from state affairs had left him
pious, God-fearing and pacific in disposition. At his accession
the financial straits of the treasury were such that the usual
donative could not be given to the janissaries. War was, how-
ever, forced on him, and less than a year after his accession the
complete defeat of the Turks at Kozluja led to the treaty of
Kuchuk Kainarji (21st July 1774), the most disastrous, especially
in its after effects, that Turkey has ever heen obliged to con-
clude. (See Turkey.) Slight successes in Syria and the Morea
against rebellious outbreaks there could not compensate for the
loss of the Crimea, which Russia soon showed that she meant
to absorb entirely. In 1787 war was again declared against
Russia, joined in the following year by Austria, Joseph II. being
entirely won over to Catherine, whom he accompanied in her
triumphal progress in the Crimea. Turkey held her own against
the Austrians, but in 1788 Ochakov fell to the Russians. Four
months later, on the 7th of April 1789, the sultan died, aged
sixty-four.

ABD-UL-HAMID II. (1842- ), sultan of Turkey, son of
Sultan Abd-ul-Mejid, was born on the 21st of September 1842,
and succeeded to the throne on the deposition of his brother
Murad V., on the 31st of August 1876. He accompanied his

ABD-UL-MEJID

uncle Sultan Abd-ul-Aziz on his visit to England and France
in 1867. At his accession spectators were struck by the fearless
manner in which he rode, practically unattended, on his way to
be girt with the sword of Eyub. He was supposed to be of
liberal principles, and the more conservative of his subjects
were for some years after his accession inclined to regard him
with suspicion as a too ardent reformer. But the circumstances
of the country at his accession were ill adapted for liberal
developments. Default in the public funds and an empty
treasury, the insurrection in Bosnia and the Herzegovina, the
war with Servia and Montenegro, the feeling aroused throughout
Europe by the methods adopted in stamping out the Bulgarian
rebellion, all combined to prove to the new sultan that he could
expect little aid from the Powers. But, still clinging to the
groundless belief, for which British statesmen had, of late at
least, afforded Turkey no justification, that Great Britain at
all events would support him, he obstinately refused to give ear
to the pressing requests of the Powers that the necessary reforms
should be instituted. The international Conference which met
at Constantinople towards the end of 1876 was, indeed, startled
by the salvo of guns heralding the promulgation of a constitu-
tion, but the demands of the Conference were rejected, in spite
of the solemn warnings addressed to the sultan by the Powers;
Midhat Pasha, the author of the constitution, was exiled; and
soon afterwards his work was suspended, though figuring to this
day on the Statute-Book. Early in 1877 the disastrous war
with Russia followed. The hard terms, embodied in the treaty
of San Stefano, to which Abd-ul-Hamid was forced to consent,
were to some extent amended at Berlin, thanks in the main
to British diplomacy (see Europe, History); but by this time
the sultan had lost all confidence in England, and thought that
he discerned in Germany, whose supremacy was evidenced in
his eyes by her capital being selected as the meeting-place of
the Congress, the future friend of Turkey. He hastened to
employ Germans for the reorganization of his finances and his
army, and set to work in the determination to maintain his
empire in spite of the difficulties surrounding him, to resist the
encroachments of foreigners, and to take gradually the reins
of absolute power into his own hands, being animated by a
profound distrust, not unmerited, of his ministers. Financial
embarrassments forced him to consent to a foreign control
over the Debt, and the decree of December 188 1, whereby
many of the revenues of the empire were handed over to the
Public Debt Administration for the benefit of the bondholders,
was a sacrifice of principle to which he could only have con-
sented with the greatest reluctance. Trouble in Egypt, where
a discredited khedive had to be deposed, trouble on the Greek
frontier and in Montenegro, where the Powers were determined
that the decisions of the Berlin Congress should be carried into
effect, were more or less satisfactorily got over. In his attitude
towards Arabi, the would-be saviour of Egypt, Abd-ul-Hamid
showed less than his usual astuteness, and the resulting con-
solidation of England's hold over the country contributed still
further to his estrangement from Turkey's old ally. The union
in 1885 of Bulgaria with Eastern Rumelia, the severance of
which had been the great triumph of the Berlin Congress, was
another blow. Few people south of the Balkans dreamed that
Bulgaria could be anything but a Russian province, and appre-
hension was entertained of the results of the union until it was
seen that Russia really and entirely disapproved of it. Then
the best was made of it, and for some years the sultan preserved
towards Bulgaria an attitude skilfully calculated so as to avoid
running counter either to Russian or to German wishes. Germany's
friendship was not entirely disinterested, and had to be fostered
with a railway or loan concession from time to time, until in
1899 the great object aimed at, the Bagdad railway, was con-
ceded. Meanwhile, aided by docile instruments, the sultan had
succeeded in reducing his ministers to the position of secretaries,
and in concentrating the whole administration of the country
into his own hands at Yildiz. But internal dissension was not
thereby lessened. Crete was constantly in turmoil, the Greeks
were dissatisfied, and from about 1890 the Armenians began a

violent agitation with a view to obtaining the reforms promised
them at Berlin. Minor troubles had occurred in 1892 and 1893
at Marsovan and Tokat. In 1894 a more serious rebellion in
the mountainous region of Sassun was ruthlessly stamped out;
the Powers insistently demanded reforms, the eventual grant
of which in the autumn of 1895 was the signal for a series of
massacres, brought on in part by the injudicious and threaten-
ing acts of the victims, and extending over many months and
throughout Asia Minor, as well as in the capital itself. The
reforms became more or less a dead letter. Crete indeed profited
by the grant of extended privileges,- but these did not satisfy its
turbulent population, and early in 1897 a Greek expedition
sailed to unite the island to Greece. War followed, in which
Turkey was easily successful and gained a small rectification of
frontier; then a few months later Crete was taken over "en
depSt " by the Four Powers — Germany and Austria not partici-
pating, — and Prince George of Greece was appointed their
mandatory. In the next year the sultan received the visit of
the German emperor and empress.

Abd-ul-Hamid had always resisted the pressure of the European
Powers to the last moment, in order to seem to yield only to over-
whelming force, while posing as the champion of Islam against
aggressive Christendom. The Panislamic propaganda was en-
couraged; the privileges of foreigners in the Ottoman Empire —
often an obstacle to government — were curtailed; the new railway
to the Holy Places was pressed on, and emissaries were sent to dis-
tant countries preaching Islam and the caliph's supremacy. This
appeal to Moslem sentiment was, however, powerless against the
disaffection due to perennial misgovernment. In Mesopotamia
and Yemen disturbance was endemic; nearer home, a semblance
of loyalty was maintained in the army and among the Mussulman
population by a system of delation and espionage, and by whole-
sale arrests ; while, obsessed by terror of assassination, the sultan
withdrew himself into fortified seclusion in the palace of Yildiz.

The national humiliation of the situation in Macedonia
(q.v.), together with the resentment in the army against the
palace spies and informers, at last brought matters to a crisis.
The remarkable revolution associated with the names of Niazi
Bey and Enver Bey, the young Turk leaders, and the Com-
mittee of Union and Progress is described elsewhere (see Turkey:
History); here it must suffice to say that Abd-ul-Hamid, on
learning of the threat of the Salonica troops to march on Con-
stantinople (July 23), at once capitulated. On the 24th an
iradt announced the restoration of the suspended constitution
of 1875; next day, further iradis abolished espionage and the
censorship, and ordered the release of political prisoners. On
the 10th of December the sultan opened the Turkish parlia-
ment with a speech from the throne in which he said that the
first parliament had been " temporarily dissolved until the
education of the people had been brought to a sufficiently high
level by the extension of instruction throughout the empire."

The correct attitude of the sultan did not save him from
the suspicion of intriguing with the powerful reactionary ele-
ments in the state, a suspicion confirmed by his attitude to-
wards the counter-revolution of the 13th of April, when an
insurrection of the soldiers and the Moslem populace of the
capital overthrew the committee and the ministry. The com-
mittee, restored by the Salonica troops, now decided on Abd-
ul-Hamid's deposition, and on the 37th of April his brother
Reshid Effendi was proclaimed sultan as Mahommed V. The
ex-sultan was conveyed into dignified captivity at Salonica.

ABD-UL-MEJID (1823-186O, sultan of Turkey, was born on
the 23rd of April 1823, and succeeded his father Mahmud II.
on the 2nd of July 1839. Mahmud appears to have been unable
to effect the reforms he desired in the mode of educating his
children, so that his son received no better education than that
given, according to use and wont, to Turkish princes in the
harem. When Abd-ul-Mejid succeeded to the throne, the
affairs of Turkey were in an extremely critical state. At the
very time his father died, the news was on its way to Constanti-
nople that the Turkish army had been signally defeated at
Nezib by that of the rebel Egyptian viceroy, Mehemet Ali;

ABDUR RAHMAN KHAN

and the Turkish fleet was at the same time on its way to Alex-
andria, where it was handed over by its commander, Ahmed
Pasha, to the same enemy, on the pretext that the young sultan's
advisers were sold to Russia. But through the intervention of
the European Powers Mehemet Ali was obliged to come to terms,
and the Ottoman empire was saved. (See Mehemet Ali.) In
compliance with his father's express instructions, Abd-ul-Mejid
set at once about carrying out the reforms to which Mahmud
had devoted himself. In November 1839 was proclaimed an
edict, known as the Hatt-i-sherif of Gulhane, consolidating
and enforcing these reforms, which was supplemented at the
close of the Crimean war by a similar statute issued in February
1856. By these enactments it was provided that all classes of
the sultan's subjects should have security for their lives and
property; that taxes should' be fairly imposed and justice
impartially administered; and that all should have full religious
liberty and equal civil rights. The scheme met with keen
opposition from the Mussulman governing classes and the ulema,
or privileged religious teachers, and was but partially put in
force, especially in the remoter parts of the empire; and more
than one conspiracy was formed against the sultan's life on
account of it. Of the other measures of reform promoted by
Abd-ul-Mejid the more important were — the reorganization of the
army (1843-1844), the institution of a council of public instruc-
tion (1846), the abolition of an odious arid unfairly imposed
capitation tax, the repression of slave trading, and various pro-
visions for the better administration of the public service and
for the advancement of commerce. For the public history of
his times — the disturbances and insurrections in different parts
of his dominions throughout his reign, and the great war suc-
cessfully carried on against Russia by Turkey, and by England,
France and Sardinia, in the interest of Turkey (1853-1856) —
see Turkey, and Crimean War. When Kossuth and others
sought refuge in Turkey, after the failure of the Hungarian
rising in 1849, the sultan was called on by Austria and Russia
to surrender them, but boldly and determinedly refused. It is
to his credit, too, that he would hot allow the conspirators
against his own life to be put to death. He bore the character
of being a kind and honourable man, if somewhat weak and
easily led. Against this, however, must be set down his ex-
cessive extravagance, especially towards the end of his life.
He died on the 25th of June 1861, and was succeeded by his
brother, Abd-ul-Aziz, as the oldest survivor of the family of
Osman. He left several sons, of whom two, Murad V. and
Abd-ul-Hamid II., eventually succeeded to the throne. In his
reign was begun, the reckless system of foreign loans, carried to
excess in the ensuing reign, and culminating in default, which
led to the alienation of European sympathy from Turkey and,
indirectly, to the dethronement and death of Abd-ul-Aziz.
ABDUR RAHMAN KHAN, 'amir of Afghanistan (c. 1844-
1901), was the son of Afzul Khan, who was the eldest son of
Dost Mahomed Khan, the famous amir, by whose success in
war the Barakzai family established their dynasty in the ruler-
ship of Afghanistan. Before his death at Herat, 9th June 1863,
Dost Mahomed had nominated as his successor Shere Ali, his
third son, passing over the two elder brothers, Afzul Khan and
Azim Khan; and at first the new amir was quietly recognized.
But after a few months Afzul Khan raised an insurrection in
the northern province, between the Hindu Kush mountains and
the Oxus, where he had been governing when his father died;
and then began a fierce contest for power among the sons of
Dost Mahomed, which lasted for nearly five years. In this
war, which resembles in character, and in its striking vicissitudes,
the English War of the Roses at the end of the 15th century,
Abdur Rahman soon became distinguished for ability and daring
energy. Although his father, Afzul Khan, who had none of
these qualities, came to terms with the Amir Shere Ali, the
son's behaviour in the northern province soon excited the amir's
suspicion, and Abdur Rahman, when he was summoned to
Kabul, fled across the Oxus into Bokhara. Shere Ali threw
Afzul Khan into prison, and a serious revolt followed in south
Afghanistan; but the amir had scarcely suppressed it by

winning a desperate battle, when Abdur Rahman's reappear-
ance in the north was a signal for a mutiny of the troops stationed
in those parts and a gathering of armed bands to his standard.
After some delay and desultory fighting, he and his uncle, Azim
Khan, occupied Kabul (March 1866). The amir Shere Ali
marched up against them from Kandahar; but in the battle
that ensued at Sheikhabad on 10th May he was deserted by a
large body of his troops, and after his signal defeat Abdur
Rahman released his father, Afzul Khan, from prison in Ghazni,
and installed him upon the throne as amir of Afghanistan.
Notwithstanding the new amir's incapacity, and some jealousy
between the real leaders, Abdur Rahman and his uncle, they
again routed Shere Ali's forces, and occupied Kandahar in 1867;
and when at the end of that year Afzul Khan died, Azim Khan
succeeded to the rulership, with Abdur Rahman as his governor
in the northern province. But towards the end of 1868 Shere
Ali's return, and a general rising in his favour, resulting in
their defeat at Tinah Khan on the 3rd of January 1869, forced
them both to seek refuge in Persia, whence Abdur Rahman pro-
ceeded afterwards to place himself under Russian protection at
Samarkand. Azim died in Persia in October 1869.

This brief account of the conspicuous part taken by Abdur
Rahman in an eventful war, at the beginning of which he was
not more than twenty years old, has been given to show the
rough school that brought out his qualities of resource and
fortitude, and the political capacity needed for rulership in
Afghanistan. He lived in exile for eleven years, until on the
death, in 1879, of Shere Ali, who had retired from Kabul when
the British armies entered Afghanistan, the Russian governor-
general at Tashkent sent for Abdur Rahman, and pressed him
to try his fortunes once more across the Oxus. In March 1880
a report reached India that he was in northern Afghanistan;
and the governor-general, Lord Lytton, opened communications
with him to the effect that the British government were pre-
pared to withdraw their troops, and to recognize Abdur Rahman
as amir of Afghanistan, with the exception of Kandahar and some
districts adjacent. After some negotiations, an interview took
place between him and Mr (afterwards Sir) Lepel Griffin, the
diplomatic representative at Kabul of the Indian government,
who described Abdur Rahman as a man of middle height, with
an exceedingly intelligent face and frank and courteous manners,
shrewd and able in conversation on the business in hand. At
the durbar on the 22nd of July 1880, Abdur Rahman was officially
recognized as amir, granted assistance in arms and money, and
promised, in case of unprovoked foreign aggression, such further
aid as might be necessary to repel it, provided that he followed
British advice in regard to his external relations. The evacua-
tion of Afghanistan was settled on the terms proposed, and in
1881 the British troops also made over Kandahar to the new
amir; but Ayub Khan, one of Shere Ali's sons, marched upon
that city from Herat, defeated Abdur Rahman's troops, and
occupied the place in July. This serious reverse roused the
amir, who had not at first displayed much activity. He led a
force from Kabul, met Ayub's army close to Kandahar, and the
complete victory which he there won forced Ayub Khan to fly
into Persia. From that time Abdur Rahman was fairly seated
on the throne at Kabul, and in the course of the next few years
he consolidated his dominion over all Afghanistan, suppress-
ing insurrections by a sharp and relentless use of his despotic
authority. Against the severity of his measures the powerful
Ghilzai tribe revolted, and were crushed by the end of 1887.
In that year Ayub Khan made a fruitless inroad from Persia;
and in 1888 the amir's cousin, Ishak Khan, rebelled against
him in the north; but these two enterprises came to nothing.

In 1885, at the moment when (see Afghanistan) the amir
was in conference with the British viceroy, Lord Dufferin, in
India, the news came of a collision between Russian and Afghan
troops at Panjdeh, over a disputed point in the demarcation
of the north-western frontier of Afghanistan. Abdur Rahman's
attitude at this critical juncture is a good example of his political
sagacity. To one who had been a man of war from his youth
up, who had won and lost many fights, the rout of a detachment

38.

ABECEDARIANS— ABEKEN

and the forcible seizure of some debateable frontier lands was
an untoward incident; but it was no sufficent reason for calling
upon the British, although they had guaranteed his territory's
integrity, to vindicate his rights by hostilities which would
certainly bring upon him a Russian invasion from the north,
and would compel his British allies to throw an army into
Afghanistan from the south-east. His interest lay in keeping
powerful neighbours, whether friends or foes, outside his king-
dom. He knew this to be the only policy that would be sup-
ported by the Afghan nation; and although for some time a
rupture with Russia seemed imminent, while the Indian govern-
ment made ready for that contingency, the amir's reserved and
circumspect tone in the consultations with him helped to turn
the balance between peace and war, and substantially conduced
towards a pacific solution. Abdur Rahman left on those who
met him in India the impression of a clear-headed man of action,
with great self-reliance and hardihood, not without indications
of the implacable severity that too often marked his administra-
tion. His investment with the insignia of the highest grade of
the Order of the Star of India appeared to give him much
pleasure.

From the end of 1888 the amir passed eighteen months in
his northern provinces bordering upon the Oxus, where he was
engaged in pacifying the country that had been disturbed by
revolts, and in punishing with a heavy hand all who were known
or suspected to have taken any part in rebellion. Shortly after-
wards (1892) he succeeded in finally beating down the resistance
of the Hazara tribe, who vainly attempted to defend their
immemorial independence, within their highlands, of the central
authority at Kabul.

In 1893 Sir Henry Durand was deputed to Kabul by the
government of India for the purpose of settling an exchange of
territory required by the demarcation of 'the boundary between
north-eastern Afghanistan and the Russian possessions, and in
order to discuss with the amir other pending questions. The
amir showed his usual ability in diplomatic argument, his
tenacity where his own views or claims were in debate, with a
sure underlying insight into the real situation. The territorial
exchanges were amicably agreed upon; the relations between
the Indian and Afghan governments, as previously arranged,
were confirmed; and an understanding was reached upon the
important and difficult subject of the border line of Afghanistan
on the east, towards India. In 1895 the amir found himself
unable, by reason of ill-health, to accept an invitation from
Queen Victoria to visit England; but his second son Nasrullah
Khan went in his stead.

Abdur Rahman died on the 1st of October 1901, being succeeded
by his son Habibullah. He had defeated all enterprises by
rivals against his throne; he had broken down the power of
local chiefs, and tamed the refractory tribes; so that his orders
were irresistible throughout the whole dominion. His govern-
ment was a military despotism resting upon a well-appointed
army; it was administered through officials absolutely sub-
servient to an inflexible will and controlled by a widespread
system of espionage; while the exercise of his personal authority
was too often stained by acts of unnecessary cruelty. He held
open courts for the receipt of petitioners and the dispensation of
justice; and in the disposal of business he was indefatigable.
He succeeded in imposing an organized government upon the
fiercest and most unruly population in Asia; he availed himself
of European inventions for strengthening his armament, while
he sternly set his face against all innovations which, like rail-
ways and telegraphs, might give Europeans a foothold within
his country. His adventurous life, his forcible character, the
position of his state as a barrier between the Indian and the
Russian empires, and the skill with which he held the balance in
dealing with them, combined to make him a prominent figure
in contemporary Asiatic politics and will mark his reign as an
epoch in the history of Afghanistan.

The amir received an annual subsidy from the British govern-
ment of 18^ lakhs of rupees. He was allowed to import muni-
tions of war. In 1896 he adopted the title of Zia-ul-Millat-ud-

Din (Light of the nation and religion); and his zeal for the
cause of Islam induced him to publish treatises on Jehad. His
eldest son Habibullah Khan, with his brother Nasrullah Khan,
was born at Samarkand. His youngest son, Mahomed Omar
Jan, was born in 1889 of an Afghan mother, connected by
descent with the Barakzai family.

See also S. Wheeler, F.R.G.S., The Amir Abdur Rahman (London,
1895); The Life of Abdur Rahman, Amir of Afghanistan, G.C.B.,
G.G.S.I., edited by Mir Munshi, Sultan Mahommed Khan (2 vols.,
London, 1900); At the Court of the Amir, by J. A. Grey (1895).

(A. \^. J-*.)

ABECEDARIANS, a nickname given to certain extreme
Anabaptists (q.v.), who regarded the teaching of the Holy Spirit
as all that was necessary, and so despised all human learning
and even the power of reading the written word.

A BECKETT, GILBERT ABBOTT (1811-1856), English writer,
was born in north London on the 9th of January 181 1. He
belonged to a family claiming descent from the father of St
Thomas Becket. His elder brother, Sir William a Beckett
( 1 806-1 869), became chief justice of Victoria (Australia). Gil-
bert Abbott a Beckett was educated at Westminster school,
and was called to the bar at Gray's Inn in 1841. He edited
Figaro in London, and was one of the original staff of Punch
and a contributor all his fife. He was an active journalist on
The Times and The Morning Herald, contributed a series of
light articles to The Illustrated London News, conducted in 1846
The Almanack of the Month and found time to produce some
fifty or sixty plays, among them dramatized versions of Dickens's
shorter stories in collaboration with Mark Lemon. As poor-law
commissioner he presented a valuable report to the home
secretary regarding scandals in connexion with the Andover
Union, and in 1849 he became a metropolitan police magistrate.
He died at Boulogne on the 30th of August 1856 of typhus fever.

His eldest son Gilbert Arthur a Beckett (1837-1891) was
born at Hammersmith on the 7th of April 1837. He went up
to Christ Church, Oxford, as a Westminster scholar in 1855,
graduating in i860. He was entered at Lincoln's Inn, but gave
his attention chiefly to the drama, producing Diamonds and
Hearts at the Haymarket in 1867, which was followed by other
light comedies. His pieces include numerous burlesques and
pantomimes, the libretti of Savonarola (Hamburg, 1884) and of
The Canterbury Pilgrims (Drury Lane, 1884) for the music of
Dr (afterwards Sir) C. V. Stanford. . The Happy Land (Court
Theatre, 1873), a political burlesque of W. S. Gilbert's Wicked
World, was written in collaboration with F. L. Tomline. For
the last ten years of his life he was on the regular staff of Punch.
His health was seriously affected in 1889 by the death of his
only son, and he died on the 15th of October 1891.

A younger son, Arthur William A Beckett (1844-1909),
a well-known journalist and man of letters, was also on the
staff of Punch from 1874 to 1902, and gave an account of his
father and his own reminiscences in The A Becketts of Punch
(1903). He died in London on the 14th of January 1009.

See also M. H. Spielmann, The History of Punch (1895).

ABEDNEGO, the name given in Babylon to Azariah, one of
the companions of Daniel (Dan. i. 7, &c). It is probably a
corruption, perhaps deliberate, of Abednebo, "servant of
Nebo," though G. Hoffmann thinks that the original form was
Abednergo, for Abednergal, " servant of the god Nergal."
C. H. Toy compares Barnebo, "son of Nebo," of which he
regards Barnabas as a slightly disguised form {Jewish Ency-
clopaedia).

ABEKEN, HEINRICH (1809-1872), German theologian and
Prussian official,- was born at Berlin on the 8th of August 1809.
He studied theology at Berlin and in 1834 became chaplain
to the Prussian embassy in Rome. In 1841 he visited England,
being commissioned by King Frederick William IV. to make
arrangements for the establishment of the Protestant bishopric of
Jerusalem. In 1848 he received an appointment in the Prussian
ministry for foreign affairs, and in 1853 was promoted to be privy
councillor of legation (Geheimer Legationsrath). He was much
employed by Bismarck in the writing of official despatches,
and stood high in the favour of King William, whom he often

ABEL

accompanied on his journeys as representative of the foreign
office. He was present with the king during the campaigns of
1866 and 1870-71. In 1851 he published anonymously Babylon
und Jerusalem, a slashing criticism of the views of the Countess
von Hahn-Hahn (q.v.).

See Heinrich Abeken, ein schlichles Leben in bewegter Zeit (Berlin,
1898), by his widow. This is valuable by reason of the letters written
from the Prussian headquarters.

ABEL (Hebrew for breath), the second son of Adam, slain by
Cain, his elder brother (Gen. iv. 1-16). The narrative in Genesis
which tells us that " the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his
offering, but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect,"
is supplemented by the statement of the New Testament, that
" by faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice
than Cain" (Hcb. xi. 4), and that Cain slew Abel "because his
own works were evil and his brother's righteous" (1 John iii.
12). See further under Cain. The name has been identified
with the Assyrian ablu, "son," but this is far from certain.
It more probably means " herdsman " (cf. the name Jabal),
and a distinction is drawn between the pastoral Abel and the
agriculturist Cain. If Cain is the eponym of the Kenites it is
quite possible that Abel was originally a South Judaean demigod
or hero; on this, see Winckler, Gesch. Israels, ii. p. 189;
E. Meyer, Israeliten, p. 395. A sect of Abelitae, who seem to
have lived in North Africa, is mentioned by Augustine (De
Haeresibus, lxxxvi.).

ABEL, SIR FREDERICK AUGUSTUS, Bart. (1827-1902),
English chemist, was born in London on the 17th of July 1827.
After studying chemistry for six years under A. W. von Hdfmann
at the Royal College of Chemistry (established in London
in 1845), he became professor of chemistry at the Royal
Military Academy in 1851, and three years later was appointed
chemist to the War Department and chemical referee to the
government. During his tenure of this office, which lasted
until 1888, he carried out a large amount of work in connexion
with the chemistry of explosives. One of the most important
of his investigations had to do with the manufacture of gun-
cotton, and he developed a process," consisting essentially of
reducing the nitrated cotton to fine pulp, which enabled it to
be prepared with practically no danger and at the same time
yielded the product in a form that increased its usefulness.
This work to an important extent prepared the way for the
"smokeless powders" which came into general use towards
the end of the 19th century; cordite, the particular form
adopted by the British government in 1891, was invented
jointly by him and Professor James Dewar. Our knowledge
of the explosion of ordinary black powder was also greatly
added to by him, and in conjunction with Sir Andrew Noble
he carried out one of the most complete inquiries on record
into its behaviour when fired. The invention of the apparatus,
legalized in 1879, for the determination of the flash-point of
petroleum, was another piece of work which fell to him by virtue
of his official position. His first instrument, the open-test
apparatus, was prescribed by the act of 1868, but, being found
to possess certain defects, it was superseded in 1879 by the
Abel close-test instrument (see Petroleum). In electricity Abel
studied the construction of electrical fuses and other applica-
tions of electricity to warlike purposes, and his work on problems
of steel manufacture won him in 1897 the Bessemer medal of
the Iron and Steel Institute, of which from 1891 to 1893 he was
president. He was president of the Institution of Electrical
Engineers (then the Society of Telegraph Engineers) in 1877.
He became a member of the Royal Society in i860, and received
a royal medal in 1887. He took an important part in the work
of the Inventions Exhibition (London) in 1885, and in 1887
became organizing secretary and first director of the Imperial
Institute, a position he held till his death, which occurred in
London on the 6th of September 1902. He was knighted in
1891, and created a baronet in 1893.

Among his books were — Handbook of Chemistry (with C. L.
Bloxam), Modern History of Gunpowder (1866) , Gun-cotton (1866),
On Explosive Agents (1872), Researches in Explosives (1875), and

Electricity applied to Explosive Purposes (1884). He also wrote
several important articles in the ninth edition of the Encyclo-
paedia Britannica.

ABEL, KARL FRIEDRICH (1725-1787), German musician,
was born in Kothen in 1725, and died on the 20th of June
1787 in London. He was a great player on the viola da gamba,
and composed much music of importance in its day for that
instrument. He studied under Johann Sebastian Bach at the
Leipzig Thomasschule; played for ten years (1748-1758) under
A. Hasse in the band formed at Dresden by the elector of Saxony;
and then, going to England, became (in 1759) chamber-musician
to Queen Charlotte. He gave a concert of his own compositions
in London, performing on various instruments, one of which,
the pentachord, was newly invented. In 1762 Johann Christian
Bach, the eleventh son of Sebastian, came to London, and the
friendship between him and Abel led, in 1764 or 1765, to the
establishment of the famous concerts subsequently known as
the Bach and Abel concerts. For ten years these were organ-
ized by Mrs Cornelys, whose enterprises were then the height
of fashion. In 1775 the concerts became independent of her,
and were continued by Abel unsuccessfully for a year aft»:r
Bach's death in 1782. At them the works of Haydn were first
produced in England. After the failure of his concert under-
takings Abel still remained in great request as a player on various
instruments new and old, but he took to drink and thereby
hastened his death. He was a man of striking presence, of
whom several fine portraits, including two by Gainsborough,
exist.

ABEL, NIELS HENRIK (1802-1829), Norwegian mathe-
matician, was born at Findoe on the 25th of August 1802. In
1815 he entered the cathedral school at Christiania, and three
years later he gave proof of his mathematical genius by his
brilliant solutions of the original problems proposed by B.
Holmboe. About this time, his father, a poor Protestant
minister, died, and the family was left in straitened circum-
stances; but a small pension from the state allowed Abel to
enter Christiania University in 1821. His first notable work
was a proof of the impossibility of solving the quintic equation
by radicals. This investigation was first published in 1824
and in abstruse and difficult form, and afterwards (1826) more
elaborately in the first volume of Crelle's Journal. Further
state aid enabled him to visit Germany and France in 1825,
and having visited the astronomer Heinrich Schumacher (1780-
1850) at Hamburg, he spent six months in Berlin, where he
became intimate with August Leopold Crelle, who was then
about to publish his mathematical journal. . This project was
warmly encouraged by Abel, who contributed much to the
success of the venture. From Berlin he passed to Freiberg,
and here he made his brilliant researches in the theory of func-
tions, elliptic, hyperelliptic and a new class known as Abelians
being particularly studied. In 1826 he moved to Paris, and
during a ten months' stay he met the leading mathematicians
of France ; but he was little appreciated, for his work was
scarcely known, and his modesty restrained him from pro-
claiming his researches. Pecuniary embarrassments, from
which he had never been free, finally compelled him to abandon
his tour, and on his return to Norway he taught for some time
at Christiania. In 1829 Crelle obtained a post for him at Berlin,
but the offer did not reach Norway until after his death near
Arendal on the 6th of April.

The early death of this talented mathematician, of whom
Legendre said " quelle tele celle du jeune Norvegien/", cut short
a career of extraordinary brilliance and promise. Under Abel's
guidance, the prevailing obscurities of analysis began to be
cleared, new fields were entered upon and the study of functions
so advanced as to provide mathematicians with numerous
ramifications along which progress could be made. His works,
the greater part of which originally appeared in Crelle's Journal,
were edited by Holmboe and published in 1839 by the Swedish
government, and a more complete edition by L. Sylow and
S. Lie was published in 1881.

For further details of his mathematical investigations see

4°

ABEL— ABELARD

the articles Groups, Theory of, and Functions of Complex
Variables.

See C. A. Bjerknes, Niels' Henrik Abel: Tableau de sa vie et son
action scientifique (Paris, 1885) ; Lucas de Peslouan, Niels Henrik
Abel (Paris, 1906).

ABEL (better Abell), THOMAS (d. 1540), an English priest
who was martyred during the reign of Henry VIII. The
place and date of his birth are unknown. He was educated at
Oxford and entered the service of Queen Catherine some time
before 1528, when he was sent by her to the emperor Charles V.
on a mission relating to the proposed divorce. On his return
he was presented by Catherine to the living of Bradwell, in
Essex, and remained to the last a staunch supporter of the
unfortunate queen. In 1533, he published his Invicla Veritas
(with the fictitious pressmark of Luneberge, to avoid suspicion),
which contained an answer to the numerous tracts supporting
Henry's ecclesiastical claims. After an imprisonment of more
than six years, Abel was sentenced to death for denying the
royal supremacy in the church, and was executed at Smithfield
on the 30th of July 1540. There is still to be seen on the wall
of his prison in the Tower the symbol of a bell with an A upon
it and the name Thomas above, which he carved during his
confinement. He was beatified by Pope Leo XIII.

See J. Gillow's Bibl. Dictionary of Eng. Catholics, vol. i. ; Calendar
of State Papers of Henry VIII., vols, iv.-vii. passim.

ABELARD, PETER (1070-1142), scholastic philosopher, was
born at Pallet (Palais), not far from Nantes, in 1079. He was
the eldest son of a noble Breton house. The name Abaelardus
(also written Abailardus, Abaielardus, and in many other ways)
is said to be a corruption of Habelardus, substituted by himself
for a nickname Bajolardus given to him when a student. As
a boy, he showed an extraordinary quickness of apprehension,
and, choosing a learned life instead of the knightly career natural
to a youth of his birth, early became an adept in the art of
dialectic, under which name philosophy, meaning at that time
chiefly the logic of Aristotle transmitted through Latin channels,
was the great subject of liberal study in the episcopal schools.
Roscellinus, the famous canon of Compiegne, is mentioned by
himself as his teacher; but whether he heard this champion of
extreme Nominalism in early youth, when he wandered about
from school to school for instruction and exercise, or some years
later, after he had already begun to teach for himself, remains
uncertain. His wanderings finally brought him to Paris, still
under the age of twenty. There, in the great cathedral school
of Notre-Dame, he sat for a while under the teaching of William
of Champeaux, the disciple of St Anselm and most advanced of
Realists, but, presently stepping forward, he overcame the
master in discussion, and thus began a long duel that issued in
the downfall of the philosophic theory of Realism, till then
dominant in the early Middle Age. First, in the teeth of opposi-
tion from the metropolitan teacher, while yet only twenty-two,
he proceeded to set up a school of his own at Melun, whence, for
more direct competition, he removed to Corbeil, nearer Paris.
The success of his teaching was signal, though for a time he had
to quit the field, the strain proving too great for his physical
strength. On his return, after 1108, he found William lecturing
no longer at Notre-Dame, but in a monastic retreat outside the
city, and there battle was again joined between them. Forcing
upon the Realist a material change of doctrine, he was once
more victorious, and thenceforth he stood supreme.. His dis-
comfited rival still had power to keep him from lecturing in
Paris, but soon failed in this last effort also. From Melun,
where he had resumed teaching, Abelard passed to the capital,
and set up his school on the heights of St Genevieve, looking
over Notre-Dame. From his success in dialectic, he next turned
to theology and attended the lectures of Anselm at Laon. His
triumph over the theologian was complete; the pupil was able
to give lectures, without previous training or special study,
which were acknowledged superior to those of the master.
Abelard was now at the height of his fame. He stepped into the
chair at Notre-Dame, being also nominated canon, about the
year 1115.

Few teachers ever held such sway as Abelard now did for a
time. Distinguished in figure and manners, he was seen sur-
rounded by crowds — it is said thousands — of students, drawn
from all countries by the fame of his teaching, in which acuteness
of thought was relieved by simplicity and grace of exposition.
Enriched by the offerings of his pupils, and feasted with universal
admiration, he came, as he says, to think himself the only
philosopher standing in the world. But a change in his fortunes
was at hand. In his devotion to science, he had hitherto lived
a very regular life, varied only by the excitement of conflict:
now, at the height of his fame, other passions began to stir
within him. There lived at that time, within the precincts of
Notre-Dame, under the care of her uncle, the canon Fulbert,
a young girl named Heloise, of noble extraction, and born about
1101. Fair, but still more remarkable for her knowledge, which
extended beyond Latin, it is said, to Greek and Hebrew, she
awoke a feeling of love in the breast of Abelard; and with
intent to win her, he sought and gained a footing in Fulbert's
house as a regular inmate. Becoming also tutor to the maiden,
he used the unlimited power which he thus obtained over her
for the purpose of seduction, though not without cherishing a
real affection which she returned in unparalleled devotion.
Their relation interfering with his public work, and being,
moreover, ostentatiously sung by himself, soon became known
to all the world except the too-confiding Fulbert; and, when
at last it could not escape even his vision, they were separated
only to meet in secret. Thereupon Heloise found herself preg-
nant, and was carried off by her lover to Brittany, where she
gave birth to a son. To appease her furious uncle, Abelard
now proposed a- marriage, under the condition that it should be
kept secret, in order not to mar his prospects of advancement
in the church; but of marriage, whether public or secret, Heloise
would hear nothing. She appealed to him not to sacrifice for
her the independence of his life, nor did she finally yield to the
arrangement without the darkest forebodings, only too soon
to be realized. The secret of the marriage was not kept by
Fulbert; and when Heloise, true to her singular purpose, boldly
denied it, life was made so unsupportable to her that she sought
refuge in the convent of Argenteuil. Immediately Fulbert,
believing that her husband, who aided in the flight, designed to
be rid of her, conceived a dire revenge. He and some others
broke into Abelard's chamber by night, and perpetrated on him
the most brutal mutilation. Thus cast down from his pinnacle
of greatness into an abyss of shame and misery, there was left
to the brilliant master only the life of a monk. The priesthood
and ecclesiastical office were canonically closed to him. Heloise,
not yet twenty, consummated her work of self-sacrifice at the
call of his jealous love, and took the veil.

It was in the abbey of St Denis that Abelard, now aged forty,
sought to bury himself with his woes out of sight. Finding,
however, in the cloister neither calm nor solitude, and having
gradually turned again to study, he yielded after a year to urgent
entreaties from without and within, and went forth to reopen
his school at the priory of Maisoncelle (1120). His lectures,
now framed in a devotional spirit, were heard again by crowds
of students, and all his old influence seemed to have returned;
but old enmities were revived also, against which he was no longer
able as before to make head. No sooner had he put in writing
his theological lectures (apparently the Introductio ad Theolo-
giam that has come down to us), than his adversaries fell foul
of his rationalistic interpretation of the Trinitarian dogma.
Charging him with the heresy of Sabellius in a provincial synod
held at Soissons in 11 21, they procured by irregular practices
a condemnation of his teaching, whereby he was made to throw
his book into the flames and then was shut up in the convent of
St Mddard at Soissons. After the other, it was the bitterest
possible experience that could befall him, nor, in the state of
mental desolation into which it plunged him, could he find any
comfort from being soon again set free. The life in his own
monastery proved no more congenial than formerly. For this
Abelard himself was partly responsible. He took a sort of
malicious pleasure in irritating the monks. Quasi jocando, he

ABELIN

cited Bede to prove that Dionysius the Areopagite had been
bishop of Corinth, while they relied upon the statement of the
abbot Hilduin that he had been bishop of Athens. When this
historical heresy led to the inevitable persecution, Abelard
wrote a letter to the abbot Adam in which he preferred to the
authority of Bede that of Eusebius' Historia Ecclesiaslica and
St Jerome, according to whom Dionysius, bishop of Corinth,
was distinct from Dionysius the Areopagite, bishop of Athens
and founder of the abbey, though, in deference to Bede, he
suggested that the Areopagite might also have been bishop of
Corinth. Life in the monastery was intolerable for such a
troublesome spirit, and Abelard, who had once attempted to
escape the persecution he had called forth by flight to a monastery
at Provins, was finally allowed to withdraw. In a desert place
near Nogent-sur-Seine, he built himself a cabin of stubble and
reeds, and turned hermit. But there fortune came back to him
with a new surprise. His retreat becoming known, students
flocked from Paris, and covered the wilderness around him
with their tents and huts. When he began to teach again he
found consolation, and in gratitude he consecrated the new
oratory they built for him by the name of the Paraclete.

Upon the return of new dangers, or at least of fears, Abelard
left the Paraclete to make trial of another refuge, accepting an
invitation to preside over the abbey of St Gildas-de-Rhuys,
on the far-off shore of Lower Brittany. It proved a wretched
exchange. The region was inhospitable, the domain a prey
to lawless exaction, the house itself savage and disorderly.
Yet for nearly ten years he continued to struggle with fate
before he fled from his charge, yielding in the end only under
peril of violent death. The misery of those years was not,
however, unrelieved; for he had been able, on the breaking up
of Heloise's convent at Argenteuil, to establish her as head of
a new religious house at the deserted Paraclete, and in the
capacity of spiritual director he often was called to revisit the
spot thus made doubly dear to him. All this time Heloise had
lived amid universal esteem for her knowledge and character,
uttering no word under the doom that had fallen upon her
youth; but now, at last, the occasion came for expressing all
the pent-up emotions of her soul. Living on for some time
apart (we do not know exactly where), after his flight from St
Gildas, Abelard wrote, among other things, his famous Historia
Calamitatum, and thus moved her to pen her first Letter, which
remains an unsurpassed utterance of human passion and womanly
devotion; the first being followed by the two other Letters, in
which she finally accepted the part of resignation which, now
as a brother to a sister, Abelard commended to her. He not
long after was seen once more upon the field of his early triumphs
lecturing on Mount St Genevieve in 1136 (when he was heard
by John of Salisbury), but it was only for a brief space: no new
triumph, but a last great trial, awaited him in the few years to
come of his chequered life. As far back as the Paraclete days,
he had counted as chief among his foes Bernard of Clairvaux,
in whom was incarnated the principle of fervent and unhesitating
faith, from which rational inquiry like his was sheer revolt,
and now this uncompromising spirit was moving, at the instance
of others, to crush the growing evil in the person of the boldest
offender. After preliminary negotiations, in which Bernard
was roused by Abelard's steadfastness to put forth all his
strength, a council met at Sens (1141), before which Abelard,
formally arraigned upon a number of heretical charges, was
prepared to plead his cause. When, however, Bernard, not
without foregone terror in the prospect of meeting the redoubt-
able dialectician, had opened the case, suddenly Abelard ap-
pealed to Rome. The stroke availed him nothing; for Bernard,
who had power, notwithstanding, to get a condemnation passed
at the council, did not rest a moment till a second condemnation
was procured at Rome in the following year. Meanwhile, on
his way thither to urge his plea in person, Abelard had broken
down at the abbey of Cluny, and there, an utterly fallen man,
with spirit of the humblest, and only not bereft of his intellectual
force, he lingered but a few months before the approach of
death. Removed by friendly hands, for the relief of his sufferings,

to the priory of St Marcel, near Chalon-sur-Saone, he died on
the 21st of April 1142. First buried at St Marcel, his remains
soon after were carried off in secrecy to the Paraclete, and given
over to the loving care of Heloise, who in time came herself to
rest beside them (1164). The bones of the pair were shifted
more than once afterwards, but they were marvellously pre-
served even through the vicissitudes of the French Revolution,
and now they lie united in the well-known tomb in the cemetery
of Pere-la-Chaise at Paris.

Great as was the influence exerted by Abelard on the minds
of his contemporaries and the course of medieval thought, he
has been little known in modern times but for his connexion
with Heloise. Indeed, it was not till the 19th century, when
Cousin in 1836 issued the collection entitled Ouvrages intdits
d' Abilard, that his philosophical performance could be judged
at first hand; of his strictly philosophical works only one, the
ethical treatise Scito te ipsum, having been published earlier,
namely, in 1721. Cousin's collection, besides giving extracts
from the theological work Sic et Non (an assemblage of opposite
opinions on doctrinal points, culled from the Fathers as a basis
for discussion, the main interest in which lies in the fact that
there is no attempt to reconcile the different opinions), includes
the Dialectica, commentaries on logical works of Aristotle,
Porphyry and Boethius, and a fragment, De Generibus el
Speciebus. The last-named work, and also the psychological
treatise De Intellections, published apart by Cousin (in Fragmens
Philosophiques, vol. ii.), are now considered upon internal
evidence not to be by Abelard himself, but only to have sprung
out of his school. A genuine work, the Glossulae super Porphy-
rium, from which Charles de Remusat, in his classical monograph
Abilard (1845), nas given extracts, remains in manuscript.

The general importance of Abelard lies in his having fixed
more decisively than any one before him the scholastic manner
of philosophizing, with its object of giving a formally rational
expression to the received ecclesiastical doctrine. However
his own particular interpretations may have been condemned,
they were conceived in essentially the same spirit as the general
scheme of thought afterwards elaborated in the 13th century
with approval from the heads of the church. Through him
was prepared in the Middle Age the ascendancy of the philo-
sophical authority of Aristotle, which became firmly established
in the half-century after his death, when first the completed
Organon, and gradually all the other works of the Greek thinker,
came to be known in the schools: before his time it was rather
upon the authority of Plato that the prevailing Realism sought
to lean. As regards his so-called Conceptualism and his attitude
to the question of Universals, see Scholasticism. Outside of his
dialectic, it was in ethics that Abelard showed greatest activity
of philosophical thought; laying very particular stress upon
the subjective intention as determining, if not the moral char-
acter, at least the moral value, of human action. His thought
in this direction, wherein he anticipated something of modern
speculation, is the more remarkable because his scholastic
successors accomplished least in the field of morals, hardly
venturing to bring the principles and rules of conduct under
pure philosophical discussion, even after the great ethical
inquiries of Aristotle became fully known to them.

Bibliography. — Abelard's own 'works remain the best sources for
his life, especially his Historia Calamitatum, an autobiography, and
the correspondence with Heloise. The literature on Abelard is
extensive, but consists principally of monographs on different
aspects of his philosophy. Charles de Remusat's Abelard (2 vols.,
1845) remains an authority-; it must be distinguished from his drama
Abilard (1877), which is an attempt to give a picture of medieval
life. McCabe's life of Abelard is written closely from the sources.
See also the valuable analysis by Nitsch in the article "Abalard"
in Hauck's Realencyklopadie f. prot. Theol. u. Kirche, 3rd ed., 1896.
There is a comprehensive bibliography in U. Chevalier, Repertoire des
sources hist, du moyen dge, s. "Abailard." (G. C. R.; J. T. S.*)

ABELIN, JOHANN PHILIPP, an early 16th-century German
chronicler, was born, probably, at Strasburg, and died there
between the years 1634 and 1637. He wrote numerous histories
over the pseudonyms of Philipp Arlanibaus, Abeleus and Johann
Ludwig Gottfried or Gotofredus, his earliest works of importance

ABENCERRAGES— ABEOKUTA

being his historyof the German wars of Gustavus Adolphus,
entitled Arma Suecica (pub. 1631-1634, in 12 parts), and the
Iwoentarium Sneciae (1632) — both compilations from existing
records. His best known work is the Theatrum Europaeum,
a series of chronicles of the chief events in the history of the
world down to 1619. He was himself responsible for the first
two volumes. It was continued by various writers and grew to
twenty-one volumes (Frankf. 1633-1738). The chief interest
of the work is, however, its illustration by the beautiful copper-
plate engravings of Matthaus Merian (1593-1650). Abelin also
wrote a history of the antipodes, Historia Antipodum (post-
humously pub. Frankf. 1655), and a history of India.
* See G. Droysen, Arlanibaeus, Godofredus, Abelinus (Berlin, 1864) ;
and notice in AUgemeine Deutsche Biographic

ABENCERRAGES, a family or faction that is said to have
held a prominent position in the Moorish kingdom of Granada
in the 15th century. The name appears to have been derived
from the Yussuf ben-Serragh, the head of the tribe in the time
of Mahommed VII., who did that sovereign good service in his
struggles to retain the crown of which he was three times de-
prived. Nothing is known of the family with certainty; but
the name is familiar from the interesting romance of Gines
Perez de Hita, Guerras civiles de Granada, which celebrates the
feuds of the Abencerrages and the rival family of the Zegris,
and the cruel treatment to which the former were subjected.
J. P. de Florian's Gonsalve de Cordoue and Chateaubriand's Le
dernier des Abencerrages are imitations of Perez de Hita's work.
The hall of the Abencerrages in the Alhambra takes its name
from being the reputed scene of the massacre of the family.

ABENDANA, the name of two Jewish theologians. (1)
Jacob (1630-1695), rabbi (Hakham) of the Spanish Jews in
London from 1680. Like his brother Isaac, Jacob Abendana
had a circle of Christian friends, and his reputation led to the
appreciation of Jewish scholarship by modern Christian theo-
logians. (2) Isaac (c. 1650-1710), his brother, taught Hebrew
at Cambridge and afterwards at Oxford. He compiled a Jewish
Calendar and wrote Discourses on the Ecclesiastical and Civil
Polity of the Jews (1706).

ABENEZRA (Ibn Ezra), or, to give him his full name,
Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra (1092 or 1093-1167), one of the
most distinguished Jewish men of letters and writers of the
Middle Ages. He was born at Toledo, left his native land of Spain
before 1 1 40 and led until his death a life of restless wandering,
which took him to North Africa, Egypt, Italy (Rome, Lucca,
Mantua, Verona), Southern France(Narbonne, Beziers), Northern
France (Dreux), England (London), and back again to the South
of France. At several of the above-named places he remained
for some time and developed a rich literary activity. In his
native land he had already gained the reputation of a distin-
guished poet and thinker; but, apart from his poems, his works,
which were all in the Hebrew language, were written in the
second period of his life. With these works, which cover in the
first instance the field of Hebrew philology and Biblical exegesis,
he fulfilled the great mission of making accessible to the Jews
of Christian Europe the treasures of knowledge enshrined in
the works written in Arabic which he had brought with him
from Spain. His grammatical writings, among which Moznayim
("the Scales," written in 1140) and Zahol ("Correctness,"
written in 1141) are the most valuable, were the first expositions
of Hebrew grammar in the Hebrew language, in which the
system of Hayyuj and his school prevailed. He also translated
into Hebrew the two writings of Hayyuj in which the founda-
tions of the system were laid down Of greater original value
than the grammatical works of Ibn Ezra are his commentaries
on most of the books of the Bible, of which, however, a part
has been lost. His reputation as an intelligent and acute ex-
pounder of the Bible was founded on his commentary on the
Pentateuch, of which the great popularity is evidenced by
the numerous commentaries which were written upon it. In
the editions of this commentary (ed. princ. Naples 1488) the
commentary on the book of Exodus is replaced by a second,
more complete commentary of Ibn Ezra, while the first and

shorter commentary on Exodus was not printed until 1840.
The great editions of the Hebrew Bible with rabbinical com-
mentaries contained also commentaries of Ibn Ezra's on the
following books of the Bible: Isaiah, Minor Prophets, Psalms,
Job, Pentateuch, Daniel; the commentaries on Proverbs, Ezra
and Nehemiah which bear his name are really those of Moses
Kimhi. Ibn Ezra wrote a second commentary on Genesis as
he had done on Exodus, but this was never finished. There are
second commentaries also by him on the Song of Songs, Esther
and Daniel. The importance of the exegesis of Ibn Ezra con-
sists in the fact that it aims at arriving at the simple sense of
the text, the so-called " Pesohat," on solid grammatical prin-
ciples. It is in this that, although he takes a great part of his
exegetical material from his predecessors, the originality of his
mind is everywhere apparent, an originality which displays
itself also in the witty and lively language of his commentaries.
To judge by certain signs, of which Spinoza in his Tractatus
Theologico Politicus makes use, Ibn Ezra belongs to the earliest
pioneers of the criticism of the Pentateuch. His commentaries,
and especially some of the longer excursuses, contain numerous
contributions to the philosophy of religion. One writing in
particular, which belongs to this province (Yosod Mera), on the
division and the reasons for the Biblical commandments, he
wrote in n 58 for a London friend, Joseph b. Jacob. In his
philosophical thought neo-pla tonic ideas prevail; and astrology
also had a place in his view of the world. He also wrote various
works on mathematical and astronomical subjects. Ibn Ezra
died on the 28th of January 1167, the place of his death being
unknown.

Among the literature on Ibn Ezra may be especially mentioned :
M. Friedlander, Essays on the Writings of Ibn Ezra (London, 1877) ;
W. Bacher, Abraham Ibn Ezra als Grammatiker (Strasburg, 1882);
M. Steinschneider, Abraham Ibn Ezra, in the Zeitschrift fur Mathe-
matik und, Physik, Band xxv., Supplement; D. Rosin, Die Religions-
philosophie Abraham Ibn Ezra' sin vols. xlii. and xliii. of the Monat-
sckrift fur Geschichte und Wissenschaft des Judenthums; his Diwan
was edited by T. Egers (Berlin, 1886); a collection of his poems,
Reime und Gedichte, with translation and commentary, were pub-
lished by D. Rosin in several annual reports of the Jewish theological
Seminary at Breslau (1885-1894). (W. Ba.)

ABENSBERG, a town of Germany, in the kingdom of Bavaria,
on the Abens, a tributary of the Danube, 18 m. S.W. of Regens-
burg, with which it is connected by rail. Pop. 2202. It has a
small spa, and its sulphur baths are resorted to for the cure of
rheumatism and gout. The town is the Castra Abusina of the
Romans, and Roman remains exist in the neighbourhood.
Here, on the 20th of April 1809, Napoleon gained a signal
victory over the Austrians under the Archduke Louis and
General Hiller.

ABEOKUTA, a town of British West Africa in the Egba
division of the Yoruba country, S. Nigeria Protectorate. It is
situated in 7 8' N., 3 25' E., on the Ogun river, 64 m. NT.
of Lagos by railway, or 81 m. by water. Population, approxi-
mately 60,000. Abeokuta lies in a beautiful and fertile country,
the surface of which is broken by masses of grey granite. It
is spread over an extensive area, being surrounded by mud
walls 18 miles in extent. Abeokuta, under the reforming zeal
of its native rulers, was largely transformed during the early
years of the 20th century. Law courts, government offices,
prisons and a substantial bridge were built, good roads made,
and a large staff of sanitary inspectors appointed. The streets
are generally narrow and the houses built of mud. There are
numerous markets in which a considerable trade is done in
native products and articles of European manufacture. Palm-
oil, timber, rubber, yams and shea-butter are the chief articles
of trade. An official newspaper is published in the Yoruba and
English languages. Abeokuta is the headquarters of the Yoruba
branch of the Church Missionary Society, and British and
American missionaries have met with some success in their
civilizing work. In their schools about 2000 children are edu-
cated. The completion in 1899 of a railway from Lagos helped
not only to develop trade but to strengthen generally the in-
fluence of the white man.

Abeokuta (a word meaning "under the rocks"), dating

ABERAVON— ABERCROMBY

from 1825, owes its origin to the incessant inroads of the slave-
hunters from Dahomey and Ibadan, which compelled the
village populations scattered over the open country to take
refuge in this rocky stronghold against the common enemy.
Here they constituted themselves a free confederacy of many
distinct tribal groups, each preserving the traditional customs,
religious rites and even the very names of their original villages.
Yet this apparently incoherent aggregate held its ground suc-
cessfully against the powerful armies often sent against the
place both by the king of Dahomey from the west, and by the
people of Ibadan from the north-east.

The district of Egba, of which Abeolcuta is the capital, has an
estimated area of 3000 sq. m. and a population of some 350,000.
It is officially known as the Abeokuta province of the Southern
Nigeria protectorate. It contains luxuriant forests of palm-
trees, which constitute the chief wealth of the people. Cotton
is indigenous and is grown for export. The Egbas are enthusi-
astic farmers and have largely adopted European methods of
cultivation. They are very tenacious of their independence,
but accepted without opposition the establishment of a British
protectorate, which, while putting a stop to inter-tribal warfare,
slave-raiding and human sacrifices, and exercising control over
the working of the laws, left to the people executive and fiscal
autonomy. The administration is in the hands of a council of
chiefs which exercises legislative, executive and, to some extent,
judicial functions. The president of this council, or ruling chief
— chosen from among the members o'f the two recognized reign-
ing families — is called the alake, a word meaning "Lord of
Ake," Ake being the name of the principal quarter of Abeokuta,
after the ancient capital of the Egbas. The alake exercises
little authority apart from his council, the form of government
being largely democratic. Revenue is chiefly derived from
tolls or import duties. A visit of the alake to England in 1904
evoked considerable public interest. The chief was a man of
great intelligence, eager to study western civilization, and an
ardent agriculturist.

See the publications of the Church Missionary Society dealing
with the Yoruba Mission ; Col. A. B. Ellis's The Yoruba-speaking
Peoples (London, 1894); and an article on Abeokuta by Sir Wm.
Macgregor, sometime governor, of Lagos, in the African Society's
Journal, No. xii. (London, July 1904).

ABERAVON, a contributory parliamentary and municipal
borough of Glamorganshire, Wales, on the right bank of the
Avon, near its mouth in Swansea Bay, rim. E.S.E. of Swansea
and 170 m. from London by rail. Pop. (1901) 7553- It has a
station on the Rhondda and Swansea Bay railway and is also on
the main South Wales line of the Great Western, whose station,
however, is at Port Talbot, half a mile distant, on the eastern
side of the Avon. The valley of the Avon, which is only some
three miles long, has been from about 1840 a place of much
metallurgical activity. There are tinplate and engineering works
within the borough. At Cwmavon, 15 m. to the north-east,
are large copper-smelting works established in 1838, acquired
two years later by the governor and Company of the Copper
Miners of England, but now worked by the Rio Tinto Copper
Company. There are also iron, steel and tinplate works both
at Cwmavon and at Port Talbot, which, when it consisted only
of docks, was appropriately known as Aberavon Port.

The town derives its name from the river Avon (corrupted
from Avan), which also gave its name to a medieval lordship.
On the Norman conquest at Glamorgan, Caradoc, the eldest son
of the defeated prince, Lestyn ab Gwrgan, continued to hold
this lordship, and for the defence of the passage of the river
built here a castle whose foundations are still traceable in a
field near the churchyard. His descendants (who from the
13th century onwards styled themselves De Avan or D'Avene)
established, under the protection of the castle, a chartered town,
which in 1372 received a further charter from Edward Le De-
spenser, into whose family the lordship had come on an exchange
of lands. In modern times these charters were not acted 'upon,
the town being deemed a borough by prescription, but in 1861
it was incorporated under the Municipal Corporations Act.
Since 1832 it has belonged to the Swansea parliamentary dis-

trict of boroughs, uniting with Kenfig, Loughor, Neath and
Swansea to return one member; but in 1885 'the older portion
of Swansea was given a separate member.

ABERCARN, an urban district in the southern parliamentary
division of Monmouthshire, England, 10 m. N.W. of Newport
by the Great Western railway. Pop. (1901) 12,607. There are
collieries, ironworks and tinplate works in the district; the
town, which- lies in the middle portion of the Ebbw valley,
being situated on the south-eastern flank of the great mining
region of Glamorganshire and Monmouthshire.

ABERCORN, JAMES HAMILTON,iSt Earl of (c. 1575-1618),
was the eldest son of Claud Hamilton, Lord Paisley (4th son of
James, 2nd earl of Arran, and duke of Chatelherault), and of
Margaret, daughter of George, 6th Lord Seton. He was made
sheriff of Linlithgow in 1600, received large grants of lands in
Scotland and Ireland, was created in 1603 baron of Abercorn,
and on the 10th of July 1606 was rewarded for his services in
the matter of the union by being made earl of Abercorn, and
Baron Hamilton, Mount Castle and Kilpatrick. He married
Marion, daughter of Thomas, 5th Lord Boyd, and left five sons,
of whom the eldest, baron of Strabane, succeeded him as 2nd
earl of Abercorn. He died on the 23rd of March 16 18. The
title of Abercorn, held by the head of the Hamilton family,'
became a marquessate in 1790, and a dukedom in 1868, the
2nd duke of Abercorn (b. 1838) being a prominent Unionist
politician and chairman of the British South Africa Company.

ABERCROMBIE, JOHN (1780-1844), Scottish physician,
was the son of the Rev. George Abercrombie of Aberdeen,
where he was born on the 10th of October 1780. He was edu-
cated at the university of Edinburgh, and after graduating as
M.D. in 1803 he settled down to practise in that city, where he
soon attained a leading position. From 1816 he published
various papers in the Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal,
which formed the basis of his Pathological and Practical Re-
searches on Diseases of the Brain and Spinal Cord, and of his
Researches on the Diseases of the Intestinal Canal, Liver and
other Viscera of the Abdomen, both published in 1828. He also
found time for philosophical speculations, and in 1830 he pub-
lished his Inquiries concerning the Intellectual Powers of Man
and the Investigation of Truth, which was followed in 1833 by
a sequel, The Philosophy of the Moral Feelings. Both works,
though showing little originality of thought, achieved wide
popularity. He died at Edinburgh on the 14th of November
1844.

ABERCROMBY, DAVID, a 17th-century Scottish physician
who was sufficiently noteworthy a generation after the probable
date of his death to have his Nova Medicinae Praxis reprinted
at Paris in 1740. During his lifetime his Tula ac efficax luis
venereae saepe absque mercurio ac semper absque salivatione
mercuriali curando methodus (1684) was translated into French,
Dutch and German. Two other works by him were De Pulsus
Variatione (London, 1685), and Ars explorandi medicas facilitates
plantarum ex solo sapore (London, 1685-1688). His Opuscula
were collected in 1687. These professional writings gave him a
place and memorial in A. von Haller's Bibliotheca Medicinae
Pract. (4 vols. 8vo, 1779, torn. iii. p. 619); but he claims notice
rather by his remarkable controversial books in theology and
philosophy than by his medical writings. Bred up at Douai as
a Jesuit, he abjured popery, and published Protestancy proved
Safer titan Popery (London, 1686). But the most noticeable
of his productions is A Discourse of Wit (London, 1685),
which contains some of the most characteristic and most
definitely-put metaphysical opinions of the Scottish philosophy
of common sense. It was followed by Academia Scientiamm
(1687), and by A Moral Treatise of the Power of Interest (1690),
dedicated to Robert Boyle. A Short Account of Scots Divines,
by him, was printed at Edinburgh in 1833, edited by James
Maidment. The exact date of his death is unknown, but ac-
cording to Haller he was alive early in the 18th century.

ABERCROMBY, PATRICK (1656-c. 1716), Scottish physician
and antiquarian, was the third son of Alexander Abercromby
of Fetterneir in Aberdeenshire, and brother of Francis Aber-

ABERCROMBY— ABERDARE

cromby, who was created Lord Glasford by James II. He
was born at Forfar in 1656 apparently of a Roman Catholic
family. Intending to become a doctor of medicine he entered
the university of St Andrews, where he took his degree of M.D.
in 1685, but apparently he spent most of his youthful years
abroad. It has been stated that he attended the university of
Paris. The Discourse of Wit (1685), sometimes assigned to
him, belongs to Dr David Abercromby (q.v.). On his return to
Scotland, he is found practising as a physician in Edinburgh,
where, besides his professional duties, he gave himself with
characteristic zeal to the study of antiquities. He was appointed
physician to James II. in 1685, but the revolution deprived
him of the post. Living during the agitations for the union
of England and Scotland, he took part in the war of pamphlets
inaugurated and sustained by prominent men on both sides
of the Border, and he crossed swords with no less redoubtable
a foe than Daniel Defoe in his Advantages of the Act of Security
compared with those of the intended Union (Edinburgh, 1707),
and A Vindication of the Same against Mr De Foe {ibid.). A
minor literary work of Abercromby's was a translation of
Jean de Beaugue's Histoire de la guerre d'Ecosse (1556) which
appeared in 1707. But the work with which his name is perma-
nently associated is his Martial Atchievements of the Scots Nation,
issued in two large folios, .vol. i. 1711, vol. ii. T7T6. In the
title-page and preface to vol. i. he disclaims the ambition of
being an historian, but in vol. ii., in title-page and preface
alike, he is no longer a simple biographer, but an historian.
Even though, read in the light of later researches, much of the
first volume must necessarily be relegated to the region of the
mythical, none the less was the historian a laborious and accom-
plished reader and investigator of all available authorities, as
well manuscript as printed; while the roll of names of those
who aided him includes every man of note in Scotland at the
time, from Sir Thomas Craig and Sir George Mackenzie to
Alexander Nisbet and Thomas Ruddiman. The date of Aber-
cromby's death is uncertain. It has been variously assigned to
1715, 17T6, 1720, and 1726, and it is usually added that he left
a widow in great poverty. The Memoirs of tlie Abercrombys,
commonly attributed to him, do not appear to have been pub-
lished.

See Robert Chambers, Eminent Scotsmen, s.v.; William Anderson,
Scottish Nation, s.v.; Alexander Chalmers, Biog. Diet., s.v.; George
Chalmers, Life of Ruddiman; William Lee, Defoe.

ABERCROMBY, SIR RALPH (1734-1801), British lieutenant-
general, was the eldest son of George Abercromby of Tullibody,
Clackmannanshire, and was born in October 1734. Educated
at Rugby and Edinburgh University, in 1754 he was sent to
Leipzig to study civil law, with a view to his proceeding to the
Scotch bar. On returning from the continent he expressed a
strong preference for the military profession, and a cornet's
commission was accordingly obtained for him (March 1756) in
the 3rd Dragoon Guards. He served with his regiment in the
Seven Years' war, and the opportunity thus afforded him of
studying the methods of the great Frederick moulded his military
character and formed his tactical ideas. He rose through the
intermediate grades to the rank of lieutenant-colonel of the
regiment (1773) and brevet colonel in 1780, and in 1781 he
became colonel of the King's Irish infantry. When that regi-
ment was disbanded in 1783 he retired upon half-pay. That
up to this time he had scarcely been engaged in active service
was owing mainly to his disapproval of the policy of the govern-
ment, and especially to his sympathies with the American
colonists in their struggles for independence; and his retirement
is no doubt to be ascribed to similar feelings. On leaving the
army he for a time took up political life as member of Parlia-
ment for Clackmannanshire. This, however, proved uncongenial,
and, retiring in favour of his brother, he settled at Edinburgh
and devoted himself to the education of his children. But on
France declaring war against England in 1793, he hastened to
resume his professional duties; and, being esteemed one of the
ablest and most intrepid officers in the whole British forces, he
was appointed to the command of a brigade under the duke of

York, for service in Holland. He commanded the advanced
guard in the action at Le Cateau, and was wounded at Nijmwegen.
The duty fell to him of protecting the British army in its dis-
astrous retreat out of Holland, in the winter of 1794-1795. In
1795 he received the honour of a knighthood of the Bath, in
acknowledgment of his services. The same year he was ap-
pointed to succeed Sir Charles Grey, as commander-in-chief of
the British forces in the West Indies. In 1796 Grenada was
suddenly attacked and taken by a detachment of the army
under his orders. He afterwards obtained possession of the
settlements of Demerara and Essequibo, in South America,
and of the islands of St Lucia, St Vincent and Trinidad. He
returned in 1797 to Europe, and, in reward for his important
services, was appointed colonel of the regiment of Scots Greys,
entrusted with the governments of the Isle of Wight, Fort-George
and Fort-Augustus, and raised to the rank of lieutenant-general.
He held, in 1 797-1 798, the chief command of the forces in Ire-
land. There he laboured to maintain the discipline of the army,
to suppress the rising rebellion, and to protect the people from
military oppression, with a care worthy alike of a great general
and an enlightened and beneficent statesman. When he was
appointed to the command in Ireland, an invasion of that country
by the French was confidently anticipated by the English govern-
ment. He used his utmost efforts to restore the discipline of an
army that was utterly disorganized; and, as a first step, he
anxiously endeavoured to protect the people by re-establishing
the supremacy of the civil power, and not allowing the military
to be called out, except when it was indispensably necessary for
the enforcement of the law and the maintenance of order.
Finding that he received no adequate support from the head of
the Irish government, and that all his efforts were opposed and
thwarted by those who presided in the councils of Ireland, he
resigned the command. His departure from Ireland was deeply
lamented by the reflecting portion of the people, and was speedily
followed by those disastrous results which he had anticipated,
and which he so ardently desired and had so wisely endeavoured
to prevent. After holding for a short period the office of com-
mander-in-chief in Scotland, Sir Ralph, when the enterprise
against Holland was resolved upon in 1799, was again called to
command under the duke of York. The campaign of 1799
ended in disaster, but friend and foe alike confessed that the most
decisive victory could not have more conspicuously proved the
talents of this distinguished officer. His country applauded the
choice when, in 1801, he was sent with an army to dispossess the
French of Egypt. His experience in Holland and the West
Indies particularly fitted him for this new command, as was
proved by his carrying his army in health, in spirits and with
the requisite supplies, in spite of very great difficulties, to the
destined scene of action. The debarkation of the troops at
Aboukir, in the face of strenuous opposition, is justly ranked
among the most daring and brilliant exploits of the English
army. A battle in the neighbourhood of Alexandria (March 21,
1 801) was the sequel of this successful landing, and it was
Abercromby's fate to fall in the moment of victory. He was
struck by a spent ball, which could not be extracted, and died
seven days after the battle. His old friend and commander the
duke of York paid a just tribute to the great soldier's memory
in general orders: "His steady observance of discipline, his
ever-watchful attention to the health and wants of his troops,
the persevering and unconquerable spirit which marked his
military career, the splendour of his actions in the field and the
heroism of his death, are worthy the imitation of all who desire,
like him, a life of heroism and a death of glory." By a vote of
the House of Commons, a monument was erected in his honour
in St Paul's cathedral. His widow was created Baroness Aber-
cromby of Tullibody and Aboukir Bay, and a pension of £2000
a year was settled on her and her two successors in the title.

A memoir of the later years of his life (1793-1801) by his third
son, James (who was Speaker of the House of Commons, 1835-1839,
and became Lord Dunfermline), was published- in 1861. For a
shorter account of Sir Ralph Abercromby see Wilkinson, Twelve
British Soldiers (London, 1899).

ABERDARE, HENRY AUSTIN BRUCE, ist Baron (1815-

ABERD ARE— ABERDEEN

1895), English statesman, was born at Duffryn, Aberdare,
Glamorganshire, on the 16th of April 1815, the son of John
Bruce, a Glamorganshire landowner. John Bruce's original
family name was Knight, but on coming of age in 1805 he
assumed the name of Bruce, his mother, through whom he in-
herited the Duffryn estate, having been the daughter of William
Bruce, high sheriff of Glamorganshire. Henry Austin Bruce
was educated at Swansea grammar school, and in 1837 was
called to the bar. Shortly after he had begun to practise, the
discovery of coal beneath the Duffryn and other Aberdare
Valley estates brought the family great wealth. From 1847 to
1852 he was stipendiary magistrate for Merthyr Tydvil and
Aberdare, resigning the position in the latter year, when he
entered parliament as Liberal member for Merthyr Tydvil.
In 1862 he became under-secretary for the home department,
and in 1869, after losing his seat at Merthyr Tydvil, but being
re-elected for Renfrewshire, he was made home secretary by
W. E. Gladstone. His tenure of this office was conspicuous for
a reform of the licensing laws, and he was responsible for the
Licensing Act of 1872, which constituted the magistrates the
licensing authority, increased the penalties for misconduct in
public-houses and shortened the number of hours for the sale
of drink. In 1873 he relinquished the home secretaryship, at
Gladstone's request, to become lord president of the council,
and was almost simultaneously raised to the peerage as Baron
Aberdare. The defeat of the Liberal government in the following
year terminated Lord Aberdare's official political life, and he sub-
sequently devoted himself to social, educational and economic
questions. In 1876 he was elected F.R.S.; from 1878 to 1892
he was president of the Royal Historical Society; and in 1881
he became president of the Royal Geographical Society. In
1882 he began a connexion with West Africa which lasted the
rest of his life, by accepting the chairmanship of the National
African Company, formed by Sir George Taubman Goldie, which
in 1886 received a charter under the title of the Royal Niger
Company and in 1899 was taken over by the British government,
its territories being constituted the protectorate of Nigeria.
West African affairs, however, by no means exhausted Lord
Aberdare's energies, and it was principally through his efforts
that a charter was in 1894 obtained for the university of Wales
at Cardiff. Lord Aberdare, who in 1885 was made a G.C.B.,
presided over several Royal Commissions at different times.
He died in London on the 25th of February 1895. His second
wife was the daughter of Sir William Napier, the historian of
the Peninsular war, whose Life he edited.

ABERDARE, a market town of Glamorganshire, Wales,
situated (as the name implies) at the confluence of the Dar and
Cynon, the latter being a tributary of the Taff. Pop. of urban
district (1901), 43,365. It is 4 m. S.W. of Merthyr Tydvil, 24
from Cardiff and 160 from London by rail. It has a station
on the Pontypool and Swansea section of the Great Western
railway, and is also served by the Llwydcoed and Abernant
stations which are on a branch line to Merthyr. The Taff Vale
line (opened 1846) has a terminus in the town. The Glamorgan
canal has also a branch (made in 1811) running from Abercynon
to Aberdare. From being, at the beginning of the 19th century,
a mere village in an agricultural district, the place grew rapidly
in population owing to the abundance of its coal and iron ore,
and the population of the whole parish (which was only i486 in
1801) increased tenfold during the first half of the century. Iron-
works were established at Llwydcoed and Abernant in 1 799 and
1800 respectively, followed by others at Gadlys and Aberaman
in 1827 and 1847. These have not been worked since about
1875, and the only metal industries remaining in the town are
an iron foundry or two and a small tinplate works at Gadlys
(established in 1868). Previous to 1836, most of the coal worked
in the parish was consumed locally, chiefly in the ironworks, but
in that year the working of steam coal for export was begun,
pits were sunk in rapid succession, and the coal trade, which at
least since 1875 has been the chief support of the town, soon
reached huge dimensions. There are also several brickworks
and breweries. During the latter half of the 19th century,

considerable public improvements were effected in the town,
making it, despite its neighbouring collieries, an agreeable place
of residence. Its institutions included a post-graduate theo-
logical college (opened in connexion with the Church of England
in 1892, until 1907, when it was removed to Llandaff). There is
a public park of fifty acres with two small lakes. Aberdare,
with the ecclesiastical parishes of St Fagan's (Trecynon) and
Aberaman carved out of the ancient parish, has some twelve
Anglican churches, one Roman Catholic church (built in 1866 in
Monk Street near the site of a cell attached to Penrhys Abbey)
and over fifty Nonconformist chapels. The services in the
majority of the chapels are in Welsh. The whole parish falls
within the parliamentary borough of Merthyr Tydvil. The
urban district includes what were once the separate villages of
Aberaman, Abernant, Cwmbach, Cwmaman, Cwmdare, Llwyd-
coed and Trecynon. There are several cairns and the remains
of a circular British encampment on the mountain between
Aberdare and Merthyr. Hirwaun moor, 4 m. to the N.W. of
Aberdare, was according to tradition the scene of a battle at
which Rhys ap Jewdwr, prince of Dyfed, was defeated by the
allied forces of the Norman Robert Fitzhamon and Iestyn ab
Gwrgan, the last prince of Glamorgan.

ABERDEEN, GEORGE GORDON, ist Earl of (1637-1720),
lord chancellor of Scotland, son of Sir John Gordon, ist baronet
of Haddo, Aberdeenshire, executed by the Presbyterians in
1644, was born on the 3rd of October 1637. He graduated M.A.,
and was chosen professor at King's College, Aberdeen, in 1658.
Subsequently he travelled and studied civil law abroad. At
the Restoration the sequestration of his father's lands was
annulled, and in 1665 he succeeded by the death of his elder
brother to the baronetcy and estates. He returned home in
1667, was admitted advocate in 1668 and gained a high legal
reputation. He represented Aberdeenshire in the Scottish
parliament of 1669 and in the following assemblies, during his
first session strongly opposing the projected union of the two
legislatures. In November 1678 he was made a privy councillor
for Scotland, and in 1680 was raised to the bench as Lord Haddo.
He was a leading member of the duke of York's administration,
was created a lord of session in June and in November 1681
president of the court. The same year he is reported as moving
in the council for the torture of witnesses. 1 In 1682 he was
made lord chancellor of Scotland, and was created, on the 13 th
of November, earl of Aberdeen, Viscount Formartine, and Lord
Haddo, Methlick, Tarves and Kellie, in the Scottish peerage,
being appointed also sheriff principal of Aberdeenshire and
Midlothian. Burnet reflects unfavourably upon him, calls him
" a proud and covetous man," and declares " the new chancellor
exceeded all that had gone before him." 2 He executed the laws
enforcing religious conformity with severity, and filled the parish
churches, but resisted the excessive measures of tyranny pre-
scribed by the English government; and in consequence of an
intrigue of the duke of Queensberry and Lord Perth, who gained
the duchess of Portsmouth with a present of £27,000, he was
dismissed in 1684. After his fall he was subjected to various
petty prosecutions by his victorious rivals with the view of
discovering some act of maladministration on which to found
a charge against him, but the investigations only served to
strengthen his credit. He took an active part in parliament
in 1685 and 1686, but remained a non-juror during the whole of
William's reign, being frequently fined for his non-attendance,
and took the oaths for the first time after Anne's accession, on
the nth of May 1703. In the great affair of the Union in 1707,
while protesting against the completion of the treaty till the
act declaring the Scots aliens should be repealed, he refused to
support the opposition to the measure itself and refrained from '
attending parliament when the treaty was settled. He died on
the 20th of April 1720, after having amassed a large fortune.
He is described by John Mackay as " very knowing in the laws
and constitution of his country and is believed to be the solidest
statesman in Scotland, a fine orator, speaks slow but sure."

^ir J. Lauder's Hist. Notices (Bannatyne Club, 1848), p. 297.
1 Hist, of his own Times, i. 523.

4 6

ABERDEEN

His person was said to be deformed, and his " want of mine or
deportment " was alleged as a disqualification for the office of
lord chancellor. He married Anne, daughter and sole heiress of
George Lockhart of Torbrecks, by whom he had six children,
his only surviving son, William, succeeding him as 2nd earl of
Aberdeen.

See Letters to George, earl of Aberdeen (with memoir: Spalding
Club, 1851); Hist. Account of the Senators of the College of Justice,
by G. Brunton and D. Haig (1832), p. 408; G. Crawfurd's Lives of
the Officers of State (1726), p. 226; Memoirs of Affairs in Scotland, by
SirG. Mackenzie (1821), p. 148; Sir J. Lauder's (Lord Fountainhall)
Journals (Scottish Hist. Society, vol. xxxvi., 1900); J. Mackay's
Memoirs (1733), p. 215; A. Lang's Hist, of Scotland, iii. 369, 376.

(P. C. Y.j '

ABERDEEN, GEORGE HAMILTON GORDON, 4 th Earl of
(1784-1860), English statesman, was the eldest son of George
Gordon, Lord Haddo, by his wife Charlotte, daughter of William
Baird of Newbyth, Haddingtonshire, and grandson of George,
3rd earl of Aberdeen. Born in Edinburgh on the 28th of January
" 1784, he lost his father in 1791 and his mother in 1795; and as
his grandfather regarded him with indifference, he went to reside
with Henry Dundas, afterwards Viscount Melville. At the age of
fourteen he was permitted by Scotch law to name his own
curators, or guardians, and selecting William Pitt and Dundas
for this office he spent much of his time at their houses, thus
meeting many of the leading politicians of the day. He was
educated at Harrow, and St John's College, Cambridge, where
he graduated as a nobleman in 1804. Before this time, however,
he had become earl of Aberdeen on his grandfather's death in
1 801, and had travelled over a large part of the continent of
Europe, meeting on bis journeys Napoleon Bonaparte and other
persons of distinction. He also spent some time in Greece, and
on his return to England founded the Athenian Society, member-
ship of which was confined to those who had travelled in that
country. Moreover, he wrote an article in the Edinburgh Review
of July 1805 criticizing Sir William Gill's Topography of Troy,
and these circumstances led Lord Byron to refer to him in
English Bards and Scotch Reviewers as " the travell'd thane,
Athenian Aberdeen." Having attained his majority in 1805,
he married on the 28th of July Catherine Elizabeth Hamilton,
daughter of John James, 1st marquess of Abercorn. In De-
cember 1806 he was elected a representative peer for Scotland,
and took his seat as a Tory in the House of Lords, but for some
years he took only a slight part in public business. However,
by his birth, his abilities and his connexions alike he was marked
out for a high position, and after the death of his wife in February
181 2 he was appointed ambassador extraordinary and minister
plenipotentiary at Vienna, where he signed the treaty of Toplitz
between Great Britain and Austria in October 1813 ; and
accompanying the emperor Francis I. through the subsequent
campaign against France, he was present at the battle of Leipzig.
He was one of the British representatives at the congress of
Chatillon in February 1814, and in the same capacity was present
during the negotiations which led to the treaty of Paris in the
following May. Returning home he was created a peer of the
United Kingdom as Viscount Gordon of Aberdeen (1814), and
made a member of the privy council. On the 15th of July 1815
he married Harriet, daughter of the Hon. John Douglas, and
widow of James, Viscount Hamilton, and thus became doubly
connected with the family of the marquess of Abercorn. During
the ensuing thirteen years Aberdeen took a less prominent part
in public affairs, although he succeeded in passing the Entail
(Scotland) Act of 1825. He kept in touch, however, with foreign
politics, and having refused to join the ministry of George
Canning in 1827, became a member of the cabinet of the duke of
Wellington as chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster in January
1828. In the following June he was transferred to the office of
secretary of state for foreign affairs, and having acquitted himself
with credit with regard to the war between Russia and Turkey,
and to affairs in Greece, Portugal and France, he resigned with
Wellington in November 1830, and shared his leader's attitude
towards the Reform Bill of 1832. As a Scotsman, Aberdeen
was interested in the ecclesiastical controversy which culminated

in the disruption of 1843. In 1840 he introduced a bill to settle
the vexed question of patronage; but disliked by a majority
in the general assembly of the Scotch church, and unsupported
by the government, it failed to become law, and some opprobrium
was cast upon its author. In 1843 he brought forward a similar
measure " to remove doubts respecting the admission of ministers
to benefices." This Admission to Benefices Act, as it was called,
passed into law, but did not reconcile the opposing parties.

During the short administration of Sir Robert Peel in 1834
and 1835, Aberdeen had filled the office of secretary for the
colonies, and in September 1841 he took office again under Peel,
on this occasion as foreign secretary; the five years during
which he held this position were the most fruitful and successful
of his public life. He owed his success to the confidence placed
in him by Queen Victoria, to his wide knowledge of European
politics, to his intimate friendship with Guizot, and not least to
his own conciliatory disposition. Largely owing to his efforts,
causes of quarrel between Great Britain and France in Tahiti,
over, the marriage of Isabella II. of Spain, and in other direc-
tions, were removed. More important still were his services
in settling the question of the boundary between the United
States and British North America at a time when a single in-
judicious word would probably have provoked a war. In 1845
he supported Peel when in a divided cabinet he proposed to
suspend the duty on foreign corn," and left office with that
minister in July 1846. After Peel's death in 1850 he became
the recognized leader of the Peelites,' although since his resigna-
tion his share in public business had been confined to a few
speeches on foreign affairs. His dislike of the Ecclesiastical
Titles Assumption Bill, the rejection of which he failed to secure
in 1851, prevented him from joining the government of Lord
John Russell, or from forming an administration himself in
this year. In December 1852, however, be became first lord of
the treasury and head of a coalition ministry of Whigs and
Peelites. Although united on free trade and in general on ques-
tions of domestic reform, a cabinet which contained Lord
Palmerston and Lord John Russell, in addition to Aberdeen,
was certain to differ on questions of foreign policy. The strong
and masterful character of these and other colleagues made the
task of the prime minister one of unusual difficulty, a fact which
was recognized by contemporaries. Charles Greville in his
Memoirs says, " In the present cabinet are five or six first-rate
men of equal, or nearly equal, pretensions, none of them b'kely
to acknowledge the superiority or defer to the opinions of any
other, and every one of these five or six considering himself abler
and more important than their premier"; and Sit James
Graham wrote, " It is a powerful team, but it will require good
driving." The first year of office passed off successfully, and it
was owing to the steady support of the prime minister that
Gladstone's great budget of 1853 was accepted by the cabinet.
This was followed by the outbreak of the dispute between
France and Turkey over the guardianship of the holy places at
Jerusalem, which, after the original cause of quarrel had been
forgotten, developed into the Crimean war. The tortuous
negotiations which preceded the struggle need not be discussed
here, but in defence of Aberdeen it may be said that he hoped
and strove for peace to the last. Rightly or wrongly, however,
he held that Russell was indispensable to the cabinet, and that
a resignation would precipitate war. His outlook, usually so
clear, was blurred by these considerations, and he lacked the
strength to force the suggestions which he made in the autumn
of 1853 upon his imperious colleagues. Palmerston, supported
by Russell and well served by Lord Stratford de Redcliffe,
British ambassador at Constantinople, favoured a more aggres-
sive policy, and Aberdeen, unable to control Palmerston, and
unwilling to let Russell go, cannot be exonerated from blame.
When the war began he wished to prosecute it vigorously; but
the stories of misery and mismanagement from the seat of war
deprived the ministry of public favour. Russell resigned; and
on the 29th of January 1855 a motion by J. A. Roebuck, for
the appointment of a select committee to enquire into the con-
duct of the war, was carried in the House of Commons by a

ABERDEEN

large majority. Treating this as a vote of want of confidence
Aberdeen at once resigned office, and the queen bestowed
upon him the order of the Garter. He smoothed the way for
Palmerston to succeed him, and while the earl of Clarendon re-
mained at the foreign office he aided him with advice and was
consulted on matters of moment. He died in London on the
14th of December i860, and was buried in the family vault at
Stanmore. By his first wife he had one son and three daughters,
all of whom predeceased their father. By his second wife, who
died in August 1833, he left four sons and one daughter. His
eldest son, George John James, succeeded as 5th earl; his second
son was General Sir Alexander Hamilton-Gordon, K.C.B.; his
third son was the Reverend Douglas Hamilton-Gordon; and
his youngest son Arthur Hamilton, after holding various high
offices under the. crown, was created Baron Stanmore in 1893.
Among the public offices held by the earl were those of lord-
lieutenant of Aberdeenshire, president of the society of Anti-
quaries from 1812 to 1846 and fellow of the Royal Society.

Aberdeen was a distinguished scholar with a retentive memory
and a wide knowledge of literature and art. His private life
was exemplary, and he impressed his contemporaries with the
loftiness of his character. His manner was reserved, and as a
speaker he was weighty rather than eloquent. In public life
he was remarkable for his generosity to his political opponents,
and for his sense of justice and honesty. He did not, however,
possess the qualities which impress the populace, and he lacked
the strength which is one of the essential gifts of a statesman.
His character is perhaps best described by a writer who says
" his strength was not equal to his goodness." His foreign
policy was essentially one of peace and non-intervention, and in
pursuing it he was accused of favouring the despotisms of
Europe. Aberdeen was a model landlord. By draining the land,
by planting millions of trees and by erecting numerous build-
ings, he greatly improved the condition of his Aberdeenshire
estates, and studied continually the welfare of his dependants.
A bust of him by Matthew Noble is in Westminster Abbey, and
his portrait was painted by Sir Thomas Lawrence. He wrote
An Inquiry into the Principles of Beauty in Grecian Architecture
{London, 1822), and the Correspondence of the Earl of Aberdeen
has been printed privately under the direction of his son, Lord
Stanmore.

The 6th earl, George (1841-1870), son of the 5th earl, was
drowned at sea, and was succeeded by his brother John Campbell
Gordon, 7th earl of Aberdeen (b. 1847), a prominent Liberal
politician, who was lord-lieutenant of Ireland in 1886, governor-
general of Canada 1893-1898, and again the lord-lieutenant of
Ireland when Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman formed his
ministry at the close of 1905.

See Lord Stanmore, The Earl of Aberdeen (London, 1893);
C. C. F. Greville, Memoirs, edited by H. Reeve (London, 1888);
Spencer Walpole, History of England (London, 1878-1886), and Life
of Lord John Russell (London, 1889); A. W. Kinglake, Invasion of
the Crimea (London, 1877-1888); Sir T. Martin, Life of the Prince
Consort (London, 1875-1880); J. Morley, Life of Gladstone (London,
1903). (A. W. H.*)

ABERDEEN, a royal burgh, city and county of a city, capital
of Aberdeenshire, and chief seaport in the north of Scotland.
It is the fourth Scottish town in population, industry and wealth,
and stands on a bay of the North Sea, between the mouths of
the Don and Dee, 1305 m. N.E. of Edinburgh by the North
British railway. Though Old Aberdeen, extending from the
city suburbs to the southern banks of the Don, has a separate
charter, privileges and history, the distinction between it and
New Aberdeen can no longer be said to exist; and for parlia-
mentary, municipal and other purposes, the two towns now form
practically one community. Aberdeen's popular name of the
" Granite City " is justified by the fact that the bulk of the town
is built of granite, but to appreciate its more poetical designation
of the " Silver City by the Sea," it should be seen after a heavy
rainfall when its stately structures and countless houses gleam
pure and white under the brilliant sunshine. The area of the
city extends to 6602 acres, the burghs of Old Aberdeen and
Woodside, and the district of Torry (for parliamentary purposes

in the constituency of Kincardineshire) to the south of the Dee,
having been incorporated in 1891. The city comprises eleven
wards and eighteen ecclesiastical parishes, and is under the
jurisdiction of a council with lord provost, bailies, treasurer and
dean of guild. The corporation owns the water (derived from
the Dee at a spot 21 m. W.S.W. of the city) and gas supplies,
electric lighting and tramways. Since 1885 the city has returned
two members to Parliament. Aberdeen is served by the Cale-
donian, Great North of Scotland and North British railways
(occupying a commodious joint railway station), and there is
regular communication by sea with London and the chief ports
on the eastern coast of Great Britain and the northern snores
of the Continent. The mean temperature of the city for the year
is 45-8° F., for summer 56 F., and for winter 37-3° F. The
average yearly rainfall is 30-57 inches. The city is one of the
healthiest in Scotland.

Streets and Buildings. — Roughly, the extended city runs north
and south. From the new 1 bridge of Don to the " auld brig " of
Dee there is tramway communication via King Street, Union
Street and Holburn Road — a distance of over five miles. Union
Street is one of the most imposing thoroughfares in the British
Isles. From Castle Street it runs W. S. W. for nearly a mile, is
70 ft. wide, and contains the principal shops and most of
the modern public buildings, all of granite. Part of the street
crosses the Denburn ravine (utilized for the line of the Great
North of Scotland railway) by a fine granite arch of 132 ft.
span, portions of the older town still fringing the gorge, fifty feet
below the level of Union Street. Amongst the more conspicuous S
secular buildings in the street may be mentioned the Town and
County Bank, the Music Hall, with sitting accommodation for
2000 persons, the Trinity Hall of the incorporated trades (origin-
ating in various years between 1398 and 1527, and having charit-
able funds for poor members, widows and orphans), containing
some portraits by George Jamesone, a noteworthy set of carved
oak chairs, dating from 1574, and the shields of the crafts with
quaint inscriptions; the office of the Aberdeen Free Press, one
of the most influential papers in the north of Scotland; the
Palace Hotel; the office of the Northern Assurance Company,
and the National Bank of Scotland. In Castle Street, a con-
tinuation eastwards of Union Street, are situated the Municipal
and County Buildings, one of the most splendid granite edifices in
Scotland, in the Franco-Scottish Gothic style, built in 1867-1878.
They are of four stories and contain the great hall with an open
timber ceiling and oak-panelled walls; the Sheriff Court House;
the Town Hall, with excellent portraits of Prince Albert (Prince
Consort), the 4th earl of Aberdeen, the various lord provosts
and other distinguished citizens. In the vestibule of the en-
trance corridor stands a suit of black armour believed to have
been worn by Provost Sir Robert Davidson, who fell in the battle
of Harlaw, near Inverurie, in 141 1. From the south-western
corner a grand tower rises to a height of 210 ft., commanding a
fine view of the city and surrounding country. Adjoining the
municipal buildings is the North of Scotland Bank, of Greek
design, with a portico of Corinthian columns, the capitals of
which are exquisitely carved. On the opposite side of the street
is the fine building of the Union Bank. At the upper end of
Castle Street stands the Salvation Army Citadel, an effective
castellated mansion, the most imposing " barracks " possessed
anywhere by this organization. In front of it is the Market Cross,
a beautiful, open-arched, hexagonal structure, 21 ft. in diameter
and 18 ft. high. The original was designed in 1682 by John
Montgomery, a native architect, but in 1842 it was removed
hither from its old site and rebuilt in a better style. On the
entablature surmounting the Ionic columns are panels contain-
ing medallions of Scots sovereigns from James I. to James VII.
From the centre rises a shaft, 125 ft. high, with a Corinthian
capital on which is the royal unicorn rampant. On an eminence
east of Castle Street are the military barracks. In Market Street
are the Mechanics' Institution, founded in 1824, with a good
library; the Post and Telegraph offices; and the Market, where
provisions of all kinds and general wares are sold. The Fish
Market, on the Albert Basin, is a busy scene in the earlymorning.

ABERDEEN

.The Art Gallery and Museum at Schoolhill, built in the Italian
Renaissance style of red and brown granite, contains an excellent
collection of pictures, the Macdonald Hall of portraits of contem-
porary artists by themselves being of altogether exceptional
interest and unique of its kind in Great Britain. The public
library, magnificently housed, contains more than 60,000
volumes. The theatre in Guild Street is the chief seat of dra-
matic, as the Palace Theatre in Bridge Place is of variety enter-
tainment. The new buildings of Marischal College fronting
Broad Street, opened by Kong Edward VII. in 1906, form one
of the most splendid examples of modern architecture, in Great
Britain; the architect, Alexander Marshall Mackenzie, a native
of Aberdeen, having adapted his material, white granite, to the
design of a noble building with the originality of genius.

Churches. — Like most Scottish towns, Aberdeen is well
equipped with churches, most of them of good design, but few
of special interest. The East and West churches of St Nicholas,
their kirkyard separated from Union Street by an Ionic facade,
1475ft. long, built in 1830, form one continuous building, 220ft.
in length, including the Drum Aisle (the ancient burial-place of
the Irvines of Drum) and the Collison Aisle, which divide them
and which formed the transept of the 12th-century church of St
Nicholas. The West Church was huilt in 1775, in the Italian
style, the East originally in 1834 in the Gothic. In 1874 a fire
destroyed the East Church and the old central tower with its
fine peal of nine bells, one of which, Laurence or "Lowrie,"
was 4 ft. in diameter at the mouth, 35 ft. high and very thick.
The church was rebuilt and a massive granite tower erected
over the intervening aisles at the cost of the municipality, a
new peal of 36 bells, cast in Holland, being installed to com-
memorate the Victorian jubilee of 1887. The Roman Catholic
Cathedral in Huntly Street, a Gothic building, was erected in
1859. The see of Aberdeen was first founded at Mortlach in
Banffshire by Malcolm II. in 1004 to celebrate his victory there
over the Danes, but in 1137 David I. transferred the bishopric
to Old Aberdeen, and twenty years later the cathedral of St
Machar, situated a few hundred yards from the Don, was begun.
Save during the episcopate of William Elphinstone (1484-1511),
the building progressed slowly. Gavin Dunbar, who followed
him in 1518, was enabled to complete the structure by adding
the two western spires and the southern transept. The church
suffered severely at the Reformation, but is still used as the parish
church. It now consists of the nave and side aisles. It is chiefly
built of outlayer granite, and, though the plainest cathedral in
Scotland, its stately simplicity and severe symmetry lend it
unique distinction. On the flat panelled ceiling of the nave
are the heraldic shields of the princes, noblemen and bishops who
shared in its erection, and the great west window contains
modern painted glass of excellent colour and design. The
cemeteries are St Peter's in Old Aberdeen, Trinity near the
links, Nellfield at the junction of Great Western and Holburn
Roads, and AUenvale, very tastefully laid out, adjoining Duthie
Park.

Education. — Aberdeen University consists of King's College
in Old Aberdeen, founded by Bishop Elphinstone in 1494, and
Marischal College, in Broad Street, founded in 1593 by George
Keith, 5th earl Marischal, which were incorporated in i860.
Arts and divinity are taught at King's, law, medicine and science
at Marischal. The number of students exceeds 800 yearly. The
buildings of both colleges are the glories of Aberdeen. King's
forms a quadrangle with interior court, two sides of which have
been rebuilt, and a library wing has been added. The Crown
Tower and the Chapel, the oldest parts, date from 1500. The
former is surmounted by a structure about 40 ft. high, consisting
of a six-sided lantern and royal crown, both sculptured, and
resting on the intersections of two arched ornamental slips
rising from the four corners of the top of the tower. The choir
of the chapel still contains the original oak canopied stalls,
miserere seats and lofty open screens in the French flamboyant
style, and of unique beauty of design and execution. Their
preservation was due to the ea'ightened energy of the principal
at the time of the Reformation, who armed his folk to save the

building from the barons of the Mearns after they had robbed
St Machar's of its bells and lead. Marischal College is a stately
modern building, having been rebuilt in 1836-1841, and greatly
extended several years later at a cost of £100,000. The additions
to the huildings opened by King Edward VII. in 1906 have been
already mentioned. The beautiful Mitchell Tower is so named
from the benefactor (Dr Charles Mitchell) who provided the
splendid graduation hall. The opening of this tower in 1895
signalized the commemoration of the four hundredth anniversary
of the foundation of the university. The University Library
comprises nearly 100,000 books. A Botanic Garden was pre-
sented to the university in 1899. Aberdeen and Glasgow Uni-
versities combine to return one member to Parliament. The
United Free Church Divinity Hall in Alford Place, in the Tudor
Gothic style, dates from 1850. The Grammar School, founded in
1 263, was removed in 1861-1863 fr° m > ts old quarters in Schoolhill
to a large new building, irt the Scots Baronial style, off Skene
Street. Robert Gordon's College in Schoolhill was founded in
' 1729 by Rohert Gordon of Straloch and further endowed in 1816
by Alexander Simpson of Collyhill. Originally devoted (as
Gordon's Hospital) to the instruction and maintenance of the
sons of poor burgesses of guild and trade in the city, it was re-
organized in 1 88 1 as a day and night school for secondary and
technical education, and has since been unusually successful.
Besides a High School for Girls and numerous board schools,
there are many private higher-class schools. Under the Endow-
ments Act 1882 an educational trust was constituted which
possesses a capital of £155,000. At Blairs, in Kincardineshire,
five miles S.W. of Aberdeen, is St Mary's Roman Catholic College
for the training of young men intended for the priesthood.

Charities. — The Royal Infimary, in Woolmanhill, established
in 1740, rebuilt in the Grecian style in 1833-1840, and largely
extended after 1887 as a memorial of Queen Victoria's jubilee;
the Royal Asylum, opened in 1800; the Female Orphan Asylum,
in Albyn Place, founded in 1840; the Blind Asylum, in Huntly
Street, established in 1843; the Royal Hospital for Sick Chil-
dren; the Maternity Hospital, founded in 1823; the City
Hospital for Infectious Diseases; the Deaf and Dumb Institu-
tion; Mitchell's Hospital in Old Aberdeen; the East and West
Poorhouses, with lunatic wards; and hospitals devoted to
specialized diseases, are amongst the most notable of the charit-
able institutions. There are, besides, industrial schools for boys
and girls and for Roman Catholic children, a Female School
of Industry, the Seabank Rescue Home, Nazareth House and
Orphanage, St Martha's Home for Girls, St Margaret's Conva-
lescent Home and Sisterhood, House of Bethany, the Convent
of the Sacred Heart and the Educational Trust School.

Parks and Open Spaces. — Duthie Park, of 50 acres, the gift'of
Miss Elizabeth Crombie Duthie of Ruthrieston, occupies an
excellent site on the north bank of the Dee. Victoria Park (13
acres) and its extension Westburn Park (13 acres) are situated
in the north-western area; farther north lies Stewart Park (n
acres), called after Sir D. Stewart, lord provost in 1893. The
capacious links bordering the sea between the mouths of the two
rivers are largely resorted to for open-air recreation; there is
here a rifle range where a " wapinschaw," or shooting tourna-
ment, is held annually. Part is laid out as an 18-hole golf course;
a section is reserved for cricket and football; a portion has been
railed off for a race-course, and a bathing-station has been
erected. Union Terrace Gardens are a popular rendezvous in
the heart of the city.

Statues. — In Union Terrace Gardens stands a colossal statue
in bronze of Sir William Wallace, by W. G. Stevenson, R.S.A.
(1888). In the same gardens are a bronze statue of Burns and
Baron Marochetti's seated figure of Prince Albert. In front of
Gordon's College is the bronze statue, by T. S. Burnett, A.R.S.A.,
of General Gordon (1888). At the east end of Union Street is
the bronze statue of Queen Victoria, erected in 1893 by the
royal tradesmen of the city. Near the Cross stands the granite
statue of the 5th duke of Gordon (d. 1836). Here may also be
mentioned the obelisk of Peterhead granite, 70 ft. high, erected
in the square of Marischal College to the memory of Sir James

ABERDEEN— ABERDEENSHIRE

M'Grigor (1778-1851), the military surgeon and director-general
of the Army Medical Department, who was thrice elected lord
rector of the College.

Bridges. — The Dee is crossed by four bridges, — the old bridge,
the Wellington suspension bridge, the railway bridge, and Vic-
toria Bridge, opposite Market Street. The first, till 1832 the
only access to the city from the south, consists of seven semi-
circular ribbed arches, is about 30 ft. high, and was built early
in the 16th century by Bishops Elphinstone and Dunbar. It
was nearly all rebuilt in 1718-1723, and in 1842 was widened from
14J to 26 ft. The bridge of Don has five granite arches, each
75 ft. in span, and was built in 1827-1832. A little to the west is
the Auld Brig o' Balgownie, a picturesque single arch spanning
the deep black stream, said to have been built by King Robert I.,
and celebrated by Byron in the tenth canto of Don Juan.

Harbour. — A defective harbour, with a shallow sand and gravel
bar at its entrance, long retarded the trade of Aberdeen, but
under various acts since 1773 it was greatly deepened. The
north pier, built partly by Smeaton in 1775-1781, and partly
by Telford in 1810-1815, extends nearly 3000 ft. into the North
Sea. It increases- the depth of water on the bar from a few feet
to 22 or 24 ft. at spring tides and to 17 or 18 ft. at neap. A
wet dock, of 29 acres, and with 6000 ft. of quay, was completed
in 1848 and called Victoria Dock in honour of the queen's visit
to the city in that year. Adjoining it is the Upper Dock. By
the Harbour Act of 1868, the Dee near the harbour was diverted
from the south at a cost of £80,000, and 90 acres of new ground
(in addition to 25 acres formerly made up) were provided on the
north side of the river for the Albert Basin (with a graving dock),
quays and warehouses. A breakwater of concrete, 1050 ft. long,
was constructed on the south side of the stream as a protection
against south-easterly gales. On Girdleness, the southern point
of the bay, a lighthouse was built in 1833. Near the harbour
mouth are three batteries mounting nineteen guns.

Industry. — Owing to the variety and importance of its chief
industries Aberdeen is one of the most prosperous cities in
Scotland. Very durable grey granite has been quarried near
Aberdeen for more than 300 years, .and blocked and dressed
paving " setts," kerb and building stones, and monumental
and other ornamental work of granite have long been exported
from the district to all parts of the world. This, though once
the predominant industry, has been surpassed by the deep-sea
fisheries, which derived a great impetus from beam-trawling,
introduced in 1882, and steam line fishing in 1889, and threaten
to rival if not to eclipse those of Grimsby. Fish trains are
despatched to London daily. Most of the leading industries date
from the 18th century, amongst them woollens (1703), linen
(1749) and cotton (1779). These give employment to several
thousands of operatives. The paper-making industry is one of
the most famous and oldest in the city, paper having been first
made in Aberdeen in 1694. Flax-spinning and jute and comb-
making factories are also very flourishing, and there are suc-
cessful foundries and engineering works. There are large
distilleries and breweries, and chemical works employing many
hands. In the days of wooden ships ship-building was a flourish-
ing industry, the town being noted for its fast clippers, many of
which established records in the " tea races." The introduction
of trawling revived this to some extent, and despite the distance
of the city from the iron fields there is a fair yearly output of
iron vessels. Of later origin are the jam, pickle and potted
meat factories, hundreds of acres having been laid down in
strawberries and other fruits within a few miles of the city.

History. — Aberdeen was an important place as far back as the
1 2 th century. William the Lion had a residence in the city, to
which he gave a charter in 1179 confirming the corporate rights
granted by David L The city received other royal charters
later. It was burned by the English king, Edward III., in
1336, but it was soon rebuilt and extended, and called New
Aberdeen. The burgh records are the oldest in Scotland. They
begin in 1398 and with one brief break are complete to the
present day. For many centuries the city was subject to
attacks by the neighbouring barons, and was strongly fortified,

but the gates were all removed by 1770. In 1497 a blockhouse
was built at the harbour mouth as a protection against the
English. During the struggles between the Royalists and
Covenanters the city was impartially plundered by both sides.
In 17 15 the Earl Marischal proclaimed the Old Pretender at
Aberdeen, and in 1745 the duke of Cumberland resided for a
short time in the city before attacking the Young Pretender.
The motto on the city arms is " Bon Accord," which formed the
watchword of the Aberdonians while aiding Robert Bruce in
his battles with the English.

Population. — In 1396 the population was about 3000. By 1801
it had become 26,992; in 1841 it was 63,262; (1891) 121,623;

(1901) 153,503-

Authorities. — The charters of the burgh; extracts from the
council register down to 1625, and selections from the letters,
guildry and treasurer's accounts, forming 3 vols, of the Spalding
Club; Cosmo Innes, Registrum Episcopatus Aberdonensis, Spalding
Club; Walter Thom, The History of Aberdeen (1811); Robert Wilson,
Historical Account and Delineation of Aberdeen (1822); William
Kennedy, The Annals of Aberdeen (1818); Orem, Description of the
Chanonry, Cathedral and. King's College of Old Aberdeen, 172^.-1725
(1830) ; Sir Andrew Leith Hay of Rannes, The Castellated Architecture
of Aberdeen; Giles, Specimens of Old Castellated Houses of Aberdeen
(1838); James Bryce, Lives of Eminent Men of Aberdeen (1841);
J. Gordon, Description of Both Towns of Aberdeen (Spalding Club,
1842); Joseph Robertson, The Book of Bon-Accord (Aberdeen, 1839);
W. Robbie, Aberdeen: its Traditions and History (Aberdeen, 1893);
C. G. Burr and A. M. Munro, Old Landmarks of Aberdeen (Aberdeen,
1886); A. M. Munro, Memorials of the Aldermen, Provosts and Lord
Provosts of Aberdeen (Aberdeen, 1897) ; P. J. Anderson, Charters, &c,
illustrating the History of the Royal Burgh of Aberdeen (Aberdeen,
1890); Selections from the Records of Marischal College (New Spalding
Club, 1889, 1898-1899); J. Cooper, Chartulary of the Church of St
Nicholas (New Spalding Club, 1888, 1892); G. Cadenhead, Sketch of
the Territorial History of the Burgh of Aberdeen (Aberdeen, 1876};
W. Cadenhead, Guide to the City of Aberdeen (Aberdeen, 1897);
A. Smith, History and Antiquities of New and Old Aberdeen (Aberdeen,
1882).

ABERDEEN, a city and the county-seat of Brown county,
South Dakota, U.S.A., about 125 m. N.E. of Pierre. Pop. (1890)
3182; (1900) 4087, of whom 889 were foreign born; (1905)
5841; (1910) 10,753. Aberdeen is served by the Chicago, Mil-
waukee and St Paul, the Great Northern, the Minneapolis and
St Louis, and the Chicago and North Western railways. It is
the financial and trade centre for the northern part of the state,
a fine agricultural region, and in 1908 had five banks and a
number of wholesale houses. The city is the seat of the Northern
Normal and Industrial School, a state institution, and has a
Carnegie library; the principal buildings are the court house
and the government buildings. Artesian wells furnish good
water-power, and artesian-well supplies, grain pitchers, brooms,
chemicals and flour are manufactured. The municipality owns
and operates the water-works. Aberdeen was settled in 1880,
and was chartered as a city in 1883.-

ABERDEENSHIRE, a north-eastern county of Scotland,
bounded N. and E. by the North Sea, S. by Kincardine, Forfar
and Perth, and W. by Inverness and Banff. It has a coast-line
of 65 m., and is the sixth Scottish county in area, occupying
1,261,887 acres or 1971 sq. m. The county is generally hilly,
and from the south-west, near the centre of Scotland, the
Grampians send out various branches, mostly to the north-east.
The shire is popularly divided into five districts. Of these the
first is Mar, mostly between the Dee and Don, which nearly
covers the southern half of the county and contains the city of
Aberdeen. It is mountainous, especially Braemar (q.v.), which
contains the greatest mass of elevated land in the British Isles.
The soil on the Dee is sandy, and on the Don loamy. The second
district, Formartine, between the lower Don and Ythan, has a
sandy coast, which is succeeded inland by a clayey, fertile, tilled
tract, and then by low hills, moors, mosses and tilled land.
Buchan, the third district, lies north of the Ythan, and, com-
prising the north-east of the county, is next in size to Mar, parts
of the coast being bold and rocky, the interior bare, low, flat,
undulating and in places peaty. On the coast, 6 m. S. of Peter-
head, are the Bullers of Buchan — a basin in which the sea, enter-
ing by a natural arch, boils up violently in stormy weather.
Buchan Ness is the most easterly point of Scotland. The fourth

5°

ABERDEENSHIRE

district, Garioch, in the centre of the shire, is a beautiful, undu-
lating, loamy, fertile valley, formerly called the granary of
Aberdeen. Strathhogie, the fifth district, occupying a consider-
able area south of the Deveron, mostly consists of hills, moors
and mosses. The mountains are the most striking of the physical
features of the county. Ben Macdhui (4296 ft.), a magnificent
mass, the second highest mountain in Great Britain, Braeriach
(4248), Cairntoul (4241), Ben-na-bhuaird (3924), Ben Avon
(3843), "dark" Lochnagar (3786), the subject of a well-known
song by Byron, Cairn Eas (3556), Sgarsoch (3402), Culardoch
(2953), are the principal heights in the division of Mar. Farther
north rise the Buck of Cabrach (2368) on the Banffshire border,
Tap o' Noth (1830), Bennachie (1698), a beautiful peak which
from its central position is a landmark visible from many different
parts of the county, and which is celebrated in John Imlah's
song, "O gin I were where Gadie rins," and Foudland (1529).
The chief rivers are the Dee, 90 m. long; the Don, 82 m. ; the
Ythan, 37 m., with mussel-beds at its mouth; the Ugie, 20 m.,
and the Deveron, 62 m., partly on the boundary of Banffshire.
The rivers abound with salmon and trout, and the pearl mussel
occurs in the Ythan and Don. A valuable pearl in the Scottish
crown is said to be from the Ythan. Loch Muick, the largest of
the few lakes in the county, 1310 ft. above the sea, 2\ m. long
and \ to \ m. broad, lies some 85 m. S.W. of Ballater, and has
Altnagiuthasach, a royal shooting-box, near its south-western end.
Loch Strathbeg, 6 m. S.E. of Fraserburgh, is only separated from
the sea by a narrow strip of land. There are noted chalybeate
springs at Peterhead, Fraserburgh, and Pannanich near Ballater.
Geology. — The greater part of the county is composed of
crystalline schists belonging to the metamorphic rocks of the
Eastern Highlands. In the upper parts of the valleys of the Dee
and the Don they form well-marked groups, of which the most
characteristic are (1) the black schists and phyllites, with calc-
flintas, and a thin band of tremolite limestone, (2) the main or
Blair Atholl limestone, (3) the quartzite. These divisions are
folded on highly inclined or vertical axes trending north-east
and south-west, and hence the same zones are repeated over a
considerable area. The quartzite is generally regarded as the
highest member of the series. Excellent sections showing the
component strata occur in Glen Clunie and its tributary valleys
above Braemar. Eastwards down the Dee and the Don and
northwards across the plain of Buchan towards Rattray Head
and Fraserburgh there is a development of biotite gneiss, partly
of sedimentary and perhaps partly of igneous origin. A belt
of slate which has been quarried for roofing purposes runs along
the west border of the county from Turriff by Auchterless and
the Foudland Hills towards the Tap o' Noth near Gartly. The
metamorphic rocks have been invaded by igneous materials,
some before, and by far the' larger series after the folding of the
strata. The basic types of the former are represented by the
sills of epidiorite and hornblende gneiss in Glen Muick and Glen
Callater, which have been permeated by granite and pegmatite
in veins and lenticles, often foliated. The later granites subse-
quent to the plication of the schists have a wide distribution on
the Ben Macdhui and Ben Avon range, and on Lochnagar; they
stretch eastwards from Ballater by Tarland to Aberdeen and
north to Bennachie. Isolated masses appear at Peterhead and
at Strichen. Though consisting mainly of biotite granite, these
later intrusions pass by intermediate stages into diorite, as in
the area between Balmoral and the head-waters of the Gairn.
The granites have been extensively quarried at Rubislaw, Peter-
head and Kemnay. Serpentine and troctolite, the precise age
of which is uncertain, occur at the Black Dog rock north of
Aberdeen, at Belhelvie and near Old Meldrum. Where the
schists of sedimentary origin have been pierced by these igneous
intrusions, they are charged with contact minerals such as silli-
manite, cordierite, kyanite and andalusite. Cordierite-bearing
rocks occur near Ellon, at the foot of Bennachie, and on the top
of the Buck of Cabrach. A banded and mottled calc-silicate
hornfels occurring with the limestone at Derry Falls, W. N.W. of
Braemar, has yielded malacolite, wollastonite, brown idocrase,
garnet, sphene and hornblende. A larger list of minerals has

been obtained from an exposure of limestone and. associated
beds in Glen Gairn, about four miles above the point where that
river joins the Dee. Narrow belts of Old Red Sandstone, resting
unconformably on the old platform of slates and schists, have
been traced from the north coast at Peterhead by Turriff to Fyvie,
and also from Huntly by Gartly to Kildrummy Castle. The
strata consist mainly of conglomerates and sandstones, which,
at Gartly and at Rhynie, are associated with lenticular bands
of andesite indicating contemporaneous volcanic action. Small
outliers of conglomerate and sandstone of this age have recently
been found in the course of excavations in Aberdeen. The
glacial deposits, especially in the belt bordering the coast
between Aberdeen and Peterhead, furnish important evidence.
The ice moved eastwards off the high ground at the head of the
Dee and the Don, while the mass spreading outwards from the
Moray Firth invaded the low plateau of Buchan; but at a
certain stage there was a marked defection northwards parallel
with the coast, as proved by the deposit of red clay north of
Aberdeen. At a later date the local glaciers laid down materials
on top of the red clay. The committee appointed by the British
Association (Report for 1897, p. $3$) proved th'at the Greensand,
which has yielded a large suite of Cretaceous fossils at Moreseat,
in the parish of Cruden, occurs in glacial drift, resting probably
on granite. The strata from which the Moreseat fossils were
derived are not now found in place in that part of Scotland, but
Mr Jukes Brown considers that the horizon of the fossils is that
of the lower Greensand of the Isle of Wight or the Aptien stage
of France. Chalk flints are widely distributed in the drift
between Fyvie and the east coast of Buchan. At Plaidy a patch
of clay with Liassic fossils occurs. At several localities between
Logie Coldstone and Dinnet a deposit of diatomite (Kieselguhr)
occurs beneath the peat.

Flora and Fauna. — The tops of the highest mountains have
an arctic flora. At the royal lodge on Loch Muick, 1350 ft.
above the sea, grow larches, vegetables, currants, laurels, roses,
&c. Some ash-trees, four or five feet in girth, are growing at
1300 ft. above the sea. Trees, especially Scotch fir and larch,
grow well, and Braemar is rich in natural timber, said to surpass
any in the north of Europe. Stumps of Scotch fir and oak
found in peat are sometimes far larger than any now growing.
The mole is found at 1800 ft. above the sea, and the squirrel at
1400. Grouse, partridges and hares are plentiful, and rabbits
are often too numerous. Red deer abound in Braemar, the deer
forest being the most extensive in Scotland.

Climate and Agriculture. — The climate, except in the moun-
tainous districts, is comparatively mild, owing to the proximity
of much of the shire to the sea. The mean annual temperature
at Braemar is 43-6° F., and at Aberdeen 45-8°. The mean
yearly rainfall varies from about 30 to 37 in. The summer
climate of the upper Dee and Don valleys is the driest and most
bracing in the British Isles, and grain is cultivated up to 1600 ft.
above the sea, or 400 to 500 ft. higher than elsewhere in North
Britain. Poor, gravelly, clayey and peaty soils prevail, but
tile-draining, bones and guano, and the best methods of modern
tillage, have greatly increased the produce. Indeed, in no part
of Scotland has a more productive soil been made out of such
unpromising material. Farm-houses and steadings have much
improved, and the best agricultural implements and machines
are in general use. About two-thirds of the population depend
entirely on agriculture. Farms are small compared with those
in the south-eastern counties. Oats are the predominant crop,
wheat has practically gone out of cultivation, but barley has
largely increased. The most distinctive industry is cattle-feed-
ing. A great number of the home-bred crosses are fattened for
the London and local markets, and Irish animals are imported
on an extensive scale for the same purpose, while an exceedingly
heavy business in dead meat for London and the south is done
all over the county. Sheep, horses and pigs are also raised in
large numbers.

Fisheries. — A large fishing population in villages along the
coast engage in the white and herring fishery, which is the next
most important industry to agriculture, its development having

ABERDEENSHIRE

been due almost exclusively to the introduction of steam trawlers.
The total value of the annual catch, of which between a half
and a third consists of herrings, amounts to £1,000,000. Had-
docks are salted and rock-dried (speldings) or smoked (finnans).
The ports and creeks are divided into the fishery districts of
Peterhead, Fraserburgh and Aberdeen, the last of which in-
cludes also three Kincardineshire ports. The herring season
for Aberdeen, Peterhead and Fraserburgh is from June to
September, at which time the ports are crowded with boats
from other Scottish districts. There are valuable salmon-
fishings — rod, net and stake-net — on the Dee, Don, Ythan and
Ugie. The average annual despatch of salmon from Aberdeen-
shire is about 400 tons.

Other Itiduslries. — Manufactures are mainly prosecuted in or
near the city of Aberdeen, but throughout the rural districts
there is much milling of corn, brick and tile making, smith-work,
brewing and distilling, cart and farm-implement making, casting
and drying of peat, and timber-felling, especially on Deeside
and Donside, for pit-props, railway sleepers, laths and barrel-
staves. There are a number of paper-making establishments,
most of them on the Don near Aberdeen.

The chief source of mineral wealth is the noted durable granite,
which is quarried at Aberdeen, Kemnay, Peterhead and else-
where. An acre of land on being reclaimed has yielded £40 to
£50 worth of causewaying stones. Sandstone and other rocks
are also quarried at different parts. The imports are mostly
coal, lime, timber, iron, slate, raw materials for the textile
manufactures, wheat, cattle-feeding stuffs, bones, guano, sugar,
alcoholic liquors, fruits. The exports are granite 1 (rough-
dressed and polished), flax, woollen and, cotton goods, paper,
combs, preserved provisions, oats, barley, live and dead cattle.

Communications. — From the south Aberdeen city is approached
by the Caledonian (via Perth, Forfar and Stonehaven), and the
North British (via Dundee, Montrose and Stonehaven) railways,
and the shire is also served by the Great North of Scotland
railway, whose main line runs via Kintore and Huntly to Keith
and Elgin. There are branch lines from various points opening
up the more populous districts, as from Aberdeen to Ballater
by Deeside, from Aberdeen to Fraserburgh (with a branch at
Maud for Peterhead and at Ellon for Cruden Bay and Boddam),
from Kintore to Alford, and from Inverurie to Old Meldrum and
also to Macduff. By sea there is regular communication with
London, Leith, Inverness, Wick, the Orkneys and Shetlands,
Iceland and the continent. The highest of the macadamized
roads crossing the eastern Grampians rises to a point 2200 ft.
above sea-level.

Population and Government. — In 1891 the population num-
bered 284,036 and in igor it was 304,439 (of whom 159,603
were females), or 154 persons to the sq. m. In 1901 there were
8 persons who spoke Gaelic only, and 1333 who spoke Gaelic
and English. The chief towns are Aberdeen (pop. in 1901,
i53,5°3)» Bucksburn (2231), Fraserburgh (9105), Huntly (4136),
Inverurie (3624), Peterhead (11,794), Turriff (2273). The
Supreme Court of Justiciary sits in Aberdeen to try cases from
the counties of Aberdeen, Banff and Kincardine. The three
counties are under a sheriff, and there are two sheriffs-substitute
resident in Aberdeen, who sit also at Fraserburgh, Huntly,
Peterhead and Turriff. The sheriff courts are held in Aberdeen
and Peterhead. The county sends two members to parliament
— one for East Aberdeenshire and the other for West Aberdeen-
shire. The county town, Aberdeen (?.».), returns two members.
Peterhead, Inverurie and Kintore belong to the Elgin group
of parliamentary burghs, the other constituents being Banff,
Cullen and Elgin. The county is under school-board juris-
diction, and there are also several voluntary schools. There are
higher-class schools in Aberdeen, and secondary schools at
Huntly, Peterhead and Fraserburgh, and many of the other
schools in the county earn grants for secondary education. The
County Secondary Education Committee dispense a large sum,
partly granted by the education department and partly con-
tributed by local authorities from the "residue" grant, and
support, besides the schools mentioned, local classes and lectures

in agriculture, fishery and other technical subjects, in addition
to subsidizing the agricultural department of the university of
Aberdeen. The higher branches of education have always been
thoroughly taught in the schools throughout the shire, and pupils
have long been in the habit of going directly from the schools to
the university.

The native Scots are long-headed, shrewd, careful, canny,
active, persistent, but reserved and blunt, and without demon-
strative enthusiasm. They have a physiognomy distinct from
the rest of the Scottish people, and have a quick, sharp, rather
angry accent. The local Scots dialect is broad, and rich in
diminutives, and is noted for the use of e for or w,/for wh, d for
tk, &c. So recently as 1830 Gaelic was the fireside language of
almost every family in Braemar, but now it is little used.

History. — The country now forming the shires of Aberdeen
and Banff was originally peopled by northern Picts, whom
Ptolemy called Taixali, the territory being named Taixalon.
Their town of Devana, once supposed to be the modern Aber-
deen, has been identified by Prof. John Stuart with a site in
the parish of Peterculter, where there are remains of an ancient
camp at Normandykes, and by Dr W. F. Skene with a station
on Loch Davan, west of Aboyne. So-called Roman camps have
also been discovered on the upper Ythan and Deveron, but
evidence of effective Roman occupation is still to seek. Traces
of the native inhabitants, however, are much less equivocal.
Weems or earth-houses are fairly common in the west. Relics
of crannogs or lake-dwellings exist at Loch Ceander, or Kinnord,
5 m. north-east of Ballater, at Loch Goul in the parish of
New Machar and elsewhere. Duns or forts occur on hills at
Dunecht, where the dun encloses an area of two acres, Barra
near Old Meldrum, Tap o' Noth, Dunnideer near Insch and
other places. Monoliths, standing stones and "Druidical"
circles of the pagan period abound, and there are many examples
of the sculptured stones of the early Christian epoch. Efforts
to convert the Picts were begun by Ternan in the 5th century,
and continued by Columba (who founded a monastery at Old
Deer), Drostan, Maluog and Machar, but it was long before they
showed lasting results. Indeed, dissensions within the Cohimban
church and the expulsion of the clergy from Pictland by the
Pictish king Nectan in the 8th century undid most of the
progress that had been made. The Vikings and Danes periodi-
cally raided the coast, but when (1040) Macbeth ascended the
throne of Scotland the Northmen, under the guidance of Thor-
finn, refrained from further trouble in the north-east. Macbeth
was afterwards slain at Lumphanan (1057), a cairn on Perkhill
marking the spot. The influence of the Norman conquest of
England was felt even in Aberdeenshire. Along with numerous
Anglo-Saxon exiles, there also settled in the country Flemings
who introduced various industries, Saxons who brought farming,
and Scandinavians who taught nautical skill. The Celts revolted
more than once, but Malcolm Canmore and his successors
crushed them and confiscated their lands. In the reign of Alex-
ander I. (d. 1 1 24) mention is first made of Aberdeen (originally
called Aberdon and, in the Norse sagas, Apardion), which re-
ceived its charter from William the Lion in n 79, by which date
its burgesses had already combined with those of Banff, Elgin,
Inverness and other trans-Grampian communities to form a
free Hanse, under which they enjoyed exceptional trading privi-
leges. By this time, too, the Church had been organized, the
bishopric of Aberdeen having been established in 1150. In the
12th and 13th centuries some of the great Aberdeenshire families
arose, including the earl of Mar (c. n 22), the Leslies, Freskins
(ancestors of the dukes of Sutherland), Durwards, Bysets,
Comyns and Cheynes, and it is significant that in most cases
their founders were immigrants. The Celtic thanes and their
retainers slowly fused with the settlers. They declined to take
advantage of the disturbed condition of the country during the
wars of the Scots independence, and made common cause with
the bulk of the nation. Though John Comyn (d. 1300?), one of
the competitors for the throne, had considerable interests in
the shire, his claim received locally little support. In 1296
Edward I. made a triumphal march to the north to terrorize the

ABERDOUR— ABERFOYLE

more turbulent nobles. Next year William Wallace surprised
the English garrison in Aberdeen, but failed to capture the castle.
In 1303 Edward again visited the county, halting at the castle
of Kildrummy, then in the possession of Robert Bruce, who
shortly afterwards became the acknowledged leader of the Scots
and made Aberdeen his headquarters for several months. De-
spite the seizure of Kildrummy Castle by the English in 1306,
Bruce's prospects brightened from 1308, when he defeated John
Comyn, earl of Buchan (d. 1313?), at Inverurie. For a hundred
years after Robert Bruce's death (1329) there was intermittent
anarchy in the shire. Aberdeen itself was burned by the English
in 1336, and the re-settlement of the districts of Buchan and
Strathbogie occasioned constant quarrels on the part of the dis-
possessed. Moreover, the crown had embroiled itself with some
of the Highland chieftains, whose independence it sought to
abolish. This policy culminated in the invasion of Aberdeen-
shire by Donald, lord of the Isles, who was, however, defeated
at Harlaw, near Inverurie, by the earl of Mar in 141 1. In the
15th century two other leading county families appeared, Sir
Alexander Forbes being created Lord. Forbes about 1442, and
Sir Alexander Seton Lord Gordon in 1437 and earl of Huntly
in 1445. Bitter feuds raged between these families for a long
period, but the Gordons reached the height of their power in the
first half of the 16th century, when their domains, already vast,
were enhanced by the acquisition, through marriage, of the
earldom of Sutherland (1514). Meanwhile commerce with the
Low Countries, Poland and the Baltic had grown apace, Camp-
vere, near Flushing in Holland, becoming the emporium of the
Scottish traders, while education was fostered by the foundation
of King's College at Aberdeen in 1497 (Marischal College followed
a century later). At the Reformation so little intuition had the
clergy of the drift of opinion that at the very time that religious
structures were being despoiled in the south, the building and
decoration of churches went on in the shire. The change was
acquiesced in without much tumult, though rioting took place
in Aberdeen and St Machar's cathedral in the city suffered
damage. The 4th earl of Huntly offered some resistance, on
behalf of the Catholics, to the influence of Lord James Stuart,
afterwards the Regent Murray, but was defeated and killed at
Corrichie on the hill of Fare in 1562. As years passed it was
apparent that Presbyterianism was less generally acceptable
than Episcopacy, of which system Aberdeenshire remained for
generations the stronghold in Scotland. Another crisis in ecclesi-
astical affairs arose in 1638, when the National Covenant was
ordered to be subscribed, a demand so grudgingly responded to
that the marquis of Montrose visited the shire in the following
year to enforce acceptance. The Cavaliers, not being disposed
to yield, dispersed an armed gathering of Covenanters in the
affair called the Trot of Turriff (1639), in which the first blood
of the civil war was shed. The Covenanters obtained the upper
hand in a few weeks, when Montrose appeared at the bridge of
Dee and compelled the surrender of Aberdeen, which had no
choice but to cast in its lot with the victors. Montrose, however,
soon changed sides, and after defeating the Covenanters under
Lord. Balfour of Burleigh (1644), delivered the city to rapine.
He worsted the Covenanters again after a stiff fight on the 2nd
of July 1645, at Alford, a village in the beautiful Howe of Alford.
Peace was temporarily restored on the " engagement " of the
Scots commissioners to assist Charles I. On his return from
Holland in 1650 Charles II. was welcomed in Aberdeen, but in
little more than a year General Monk entered the city at the
head of the Cromwellian regiments. The English garrison re-
mained till 1659, and next year the Restoration was effusively
hailed, and prelacy was once more in the ascendant. Most of the
Presbyterians conformed, but the Quakers, more numerous in
the shire and the adjoining county of Kincardine than anywhere
else in Scotland, were systematically persecuted. After the
Revolution (1688) episcopacy passed under a cloud, but the
clergy, yielding to force majeure, gradually accepted the inevitable,
hoping, as long as Queen Anne lived, that prelacy might yet be
recognized as the national form of Church government. Her
death dissipated these dreams, and as George I., her successor,

was antipathetic to the clergy, it happened that Jacobitism and
episcopalianism came to be regarded in the shire as identical,
though in point of fact the non-jurors as a body never counte-
nanced rebellion. The earl of Mar raised the standard of revolt
in Braemar (6th of September 1715); a fortnight later James
was proclaimed at Aberdeen cross; the Pretender landed at
Peterhead on the 22nd of December, and in February 1716 he
was back again in France. The collapse of the first rising ruined
many of the lairds, and when the second rebellion occurred
thirty years afterwards the county in the main was apathetic,
though the insurgents held Aberdeen for five months, and Lord
Lewis Gordon- won a trifling victory for Prince Charles Edward
at Inverurie (23rd of December 1 745). The duke of Cumberland
relieved Aberdeen at the end of February 1746, and in April
the Young Pretender was a fugitive. Thereafter the people
devoted themselves to agriculture, industry and . commerce,
which developed by leaps and bounds, and, along with equally
remarkable progress in education, transformed the aspect of
the shire and made the community as a whole one of the most
prosperous in Scotland.

See W. Watt, History of Aberdeen and Banff (Edinburgh, 1900);
Collections for a History of the Shires of Aberdeen and Banff (edited
by Dr Joseph Robertson, Spalding Club) ; Sir A. Leith-Hay, Castles
of Aberdeenshire (Aberdeen, 1887); J. Davidson, Inverurie and the
Earldom of the Garioch (Edinburgh, 1878); Pratt, Buchan (rev. by
R. Anderson), (Aberdeen, 1900); A. I. M'Connochie, Deeside (Aber-
deen, 1895).

ABERDOUR, a village of Fifeshire, Scotland. Pleasantly
situated cm the shore of the Firth of Fortfi, 17J m. N.W. of
Edinburgh by the North British railway and 7 m. N.W. of Leith
by steamer, it is much resorted to for its excellent sea-bathing.
There are ruins of a castle and an old decayed church, which
contains some fine Norman work. About 3 m. S.W. is Doni-
bristle House, the seat of the earl of Murray (Moray), and the
scene of the murder (Feb. 7, 1592) of James, 2nd (Stuart) earl
of Murray. The island of Inchcolm, or Island of Columba, £ m.
from the shore, is in the parish of Aberdour. As its name
implies, its associations date back to the time of Columba. The
primitive stone-roofed oratory is supposed to have been a
hermit's cell. The Augustinian monastery was founded in n 23
by Alexander I. The buildings are well preserved, consisting of a
low square tower, church, cloisters, refectory and small chapter-
house. The island of Columba was occasionally plundered by
English and other rovers, but in the 16th century it became the
property of Sir James Stuart, whose grandson became 2nd earl
of Murray by virtue of his marriage to the elder daughter of the
1st earl. From it comes the earl's title of Lord St Colme (161 1).

ABERDOVEY (Aberdyfi: the Dyfi is the county frontier), a
seaside village of Merionethshire, North Wales, on the Cambrian
railway. Pop. (1901) 1466. It lies in the midst of beautiful
scenery, 4 m. from Towyn, on the N. bank of the Dyfi estuary,
commanding views of Snowdon, Cader Idris, Arran Mawddy and
Plynlimmon. The Dyfi, here a mile broad, is crossed by a ferry
to Borth sands, whence a road leads to Aberystwyth. The sub-
merged " bells of Aberdovey " (since Seithennin " the drunkard "
caused the formation of Cardigan Bay) are famous in a Welsh
song. Aberdovey is a health and bathing resort.

ABERFOYLE, a village and parish of Perthshire, Scotland,
34i m. N. by W. of Glasgow by the North British railway. Pop.
of parish (1901) 1052. The village is situated at the base of
Craigmore (1271 ft. high) and on the Laggan, a head- water of
the Forth. Since 1885, when the duke of Montrose constructed
a road over the eastern shoulder of Craigmore to join the older
road at the entrance of the Trossachs pass, Aberfoyle has be-
come the alternative route to the Trossachs and Loch Katrine.
Loch Ard, about 2 m. W. of Aberfoyle, lies 105 ft. above the sea.
It is 3 m. long (including the narrows at the east end) and 1 m.
broad. Towards the west end is Eilean Gorm (the green isle),
and near the north-western shore are the falls of Ledard. Two
m. N.W. is Loch Chon, 290 ft. above the sea, 1$ m. long, and
about i m. broad. It drains by the Avon Dhu to Loch Ard,
which is drained in turn by the Laggan. The slate quarries on
Craigmore are the only industry in Aberfoyle.

ABERGAVENNY— ABERNETHY

ABERGAVENNY, a market town and municipal borough in
the northern parliamentary division of Monmouthshire, England,
14 m. W. of Monmouth on the Great Western and the London
and North-Western railways. Pop. (1001) 7795. It is situated
at the junction of a small stream called the Gavenny with the
river Usk; and the site, almost surrounded by lofty hills, is
very beautiful. The town was formerly walled, and has the
remains of a castle built soon after the conquest, frequently the
scene of border strife. The church of St Mary belonged origin-
ally to a Benedictine monastery founded early in the 12th cen-
tury. The existing building, however, is Decorated and Perpen-
dicular, and contains a fine series of memorials of dates from the
13th to the 1 7th century. There is a free grammar school, which
till 1857 bad a fellowship at Jesus College, Oxford. Breweries,
ironworks, quarries, brick fields and collieries in the neighbour-
hood are among the principal industrial establishments. Aber-
gavenny was incorporated in 1899, and is governed by a mayor,
4 aldermen and 12 councillors. Area, 825 acres.

This was the Roman Gobannium, a small fort guarding the road
along the valley of the Usk and ensuring quiet among the hill tribes.
There is practically no trace of this fort. Abergavenny (Bergavenny)
grew up under the protection of the lords of Abergavenny, whose
title dated from William I. Owing to its situation, the town was
frequently embroiled in the border warfare of the 12th and 13th
centuries, and Giraldus Cambrensis relates how in 1175 the castle
was seized by the Welsh. Hamelyn de Baalun, first lord of Aber-
gavenny, founded the Benedictine priory, which was subsequently
endowed by William de Braosc with a tenth of the profits of the
castle and town. At the dissolution of the priory part of this en-
dowment went towards the foundation of a free grammar school,
the site itself passing to the Gunter family. During the Civil War
prior to the siege of Raglan Castle in 1645, Charles I. visited Aber-
gavenny, and presided in person over the trial of Sir Trevor Williams
and other parliamentarians. In 1639 Abergavenny received a
charter of incorporation under the title of bailiff and burgesses. A
charter with extended privileges was drafted in 1657, but appears
never to have been enrolled or to have come into effect. Owing to
the refusal of the chief officers of the corporation to take the oath
of allegiance to William III. in 1688, the charter was annulled, and
the town subsequently declined in prosperity. The act of 27
Henry VIII., which provided that Monmouth, as county town,
should return one burgess to parliament, further stated that other
ancient Monmouthshire boroughs were to contribute towards the
payment of the member. In consequence of this clause Abergavenny
on various occasions shared in the election, the last instance being
in 1685. Reference to a market at Abergavenny is found in a
charter granted to the prior by William de Braose (d. 121 1). The
right to hold two weekly markets and three yearly fairs, as hitherto
held, was confirmed in 1657. Abergavenny was celebrated for the
production of Welsh flannel, and also for the manufacture, whilst
the fashion prevailed, of periwigs of goats' hair.

The title of Baron Abergavenny, in the Neville family, dates from
Edward Neville (d. 1476), who was the youngest son of the 1st earl
of Westmoreland by Joan Beaufort, daughter of John of Gaunt.
He married the heiress of Richard, earl of Worcester, whose father
had inherited the castle and estate of Abergavenny, and was sum-
moned in 1392 to parliament as Lord Bergavenny. Edward
Neville was summoned to parliament with this title in 1450. His
direct male descendants ended in 1587 in Henry Neville, but a
cousin, Edward Neville (d. 1622), was confirmed in the barony in
1604. From him it has descended continuously, the title being
increased to an earldom in 1784; and in 1876 William Nevill (sic),
5th earl (b. 1826), an indefatigable and powerful supporter of the
Conservative party, was created 1st marquess of Abergavenny. (See
Neville.)

ABERIGH-MACKAY, GEORGE ROBERT (1848-1881), Anglo-
Indian writer, son of a Bengal chaplain, was born on the 25th
of July 1848, and was educated at Magdalen College School and
Cambridge University. Entering the Indian education depart-
ment in 1870, he became professor of English literature in Delhi
College in 1873,. tutor to the raja of Rutlam 1876, and principal
of the Rajkumar College at Indore in 1877. He is best known
for his book Twenty-one Days in India (1878-1879), a satire upon
Anglo-Indian society and modes of thought. This book gave
promise of a successful literary career; but the author died at
the age of thirty-three.

ABERNETHY, JOHN (1680-1740), Irish Presbyterian divine,
was born at Coleraine, county Londonderry, where his father
was Nonconformist minister, on the 19th of October 1680. In
his thirteenth year he entered the university of Glasgow, and on
concluding his course there went on to Edinburgh, where his

intellectual and social attainments gained him a ready entrance
into the most cultured circles. Returning home he received
licence to preach from his Presbytery before he was twenty-one.
In 1 701 he was urgently invited to accept charge of an important
congregation in Antrim; and after an interval of two years,
mostly spent in further study in Dublin, he was ordained there
on the 8th of August 1703. Here he did notable work, both as a
debater in the synods and assemblies of his church and as an
evangelist. In 17 12 he lost his wife (Susannah Jordan), and the
loss desolated his life for many years. In 17 17 he was invited to
the congregation of Usher's Quay, Dublin, and contemporane-
ously to what was called the Old Congregation of Belfast. The
synod assigned him to Dublin. After careful consideration he
declined to accede, and remained at Antrim. This refusal was
regarded then as ecclesiastical high-treason; and a controversy
of the most intense and disproportionate character followed, Aber-
nethy standing firm for religious freedom and repudiating the
sacerdotal assumptions of all ecclesiastical courts. The contro-
versy and quarrel bears the name of "the two camps in the con-
flict, the " Subscribers " and the " Non-subscribers." Out-and-
out evangelical as John Abernethy was, there can be no question
that he and his associates sowed the seeds of that after-struggle
(1821-1840) in which, under the leadership of Dr Henry Cooke,
the Arian and Socinian elements of the Irish Presbyterian Church
were thrown out. Much of what he contended for, and which the
" Subscribers " opposed bitterly, has been silently granted in the
lapse of time. In 1726 the " Non-subscribers," spite of an almost
wofully pathetic pleading against separation by Abernethy, were
cut off, with due ban and solemnity, from the Irish Presbyterian
Church. In 1730, although a "Non-subscriber," he was invited
to Wood Street, Dublin, whither he removed. In 1731 came on
the greatest controversy in which Abernethy engaged, viz. in
relation to the Test Act nominally, but practically on the entire
question of tests and disabilities. His stand was " against all
laws that, upon account of mere differences of religious opinions
and forms of worship, excluded men of integrity and ability
from serving their country." He was nearly a century in ad-
vance of his age. He had to reason with those who denied that a
Roman Catholic or Dissenter could be a " man of integrity and
ability." His Tracts — afterwards collected — did fresh service,
generations later, and his name is honoured by all who love
freedom of conscience and opinion. He died in December 1740.
See Dr Duchal's Life, prefixed to Sermons (1762) ; Diary in MS.,
6 vols. 4to; Reid's Presbyterian Church in Ireland, iii. 234.

ABERNETHY, JOHN (1764-1831), English surgeon, grandson
of John Abernethy (see above), was born in London on the
3rd of April 1764. His father was a London merchant. Edu-
cated at Wolverhampton grammar school, he was apprenticed
in 1779 to Sir Charles Blicke (1745-1815), surgeon to St Bar-
tholomew's Hospital, London. He attended the anatomical
lectures of Sir William Blizard (1743-1835) at the London
Hospital, and was early employed to assist as "demonstrator";
he also attended Percival Pott's surgical lectures at St Bartholo-
mew's Hospital, as well as the lectures of John Hunter. On
Pott's resignation of the office of surgeon of St Bartholomew's,
Sir Charles Blicke, who was assistant-s.urgeon, succeeded him,
and Abernethy was elected assistant-surgeon in 1787. In this
capacity he began to give lectures at his house in Bartholomew
Close, which were so well attended that the governors of the
hospital built a regular theatre (1790-1791), and Abernethy thus
became the founder of the distinguished school of St Bartholo-
mew's. He held the office of assistant-surgeon of the hospital
for the long period of twenty-eight years, till, in 18 15, he was
elected principal surgeon. He had before that time been ap-
pointed lecturer in anatomy to the Royal College of Surgeons
(1814). Abernethy was not a great operator, though his name is
associated with the treatment of aneurism by ligature of the
external iliac artery. His Surgical Observations on the Constitu-
tional Origin and Treatment of Local Diseases (1809) — known as
" My Book," from the great frequency with which he referred
his patients to it, and to page 72 of it in particular, under that
name — was one of the earliest popular works on medical science.

ABERRATION

He taught that local diseases were frequently the results of
disordered states of the digestive organs, and were to be treated
by purging and attention to diet. As a lecturer he was ex-
ceedingly attractive, and his success in teaching was largely
attributable to the persuasiveness with which he enunciated
his views. It has been said, however, that the influence he
exerted on those who attended his lectures was not beneficial
in this respect, that his opinions were delivered so dogmatically,
and all who differed from him were disparaged and denounced
so contemptuously, as to repress instead of stimulating inquiry.
The celebrity he attained in his practice was due not only to his
great professional skill, but also in part to the singularity of his
manners. He used great plainness of speech in his intercourse
with his patients, treating them often brusquely and sometimes
even rudely. In the circle of his family and friends he was
courteous and affectionate; and in all his dealings he was strictly
just and honourable. He resigned his position at St Bartholo-
mew's Hospital in 1827, and died at his residence at Enfield on
the 20th of April 1831.

A collected edition of his works was published in 1830. A bio-
graphy, Memoirs of John Abernethy, by George Macilwain, appeared
m 1853.

ABERRATION (Lat. ab, from or away, err are, to wander),
a deviation or wandering, especially used in the figurative sense :
as in ethics, a deviation from the truth; in pathology, a mental
derangement; in zoology and botany, abnormal development
or structure. In optics, the word has two special applications:
(1) Aberration of Light, and (2) Aberration in Optical Systems.
These subjects receive treatment below.

I. Aberration of Light

This astronomical phenomenon may be defined as an apparent
motion of the heavenly bodies; the stars describing annually
orbits more or less elliptical, according to the latitude of the
star; consequently at any moment the star appears to be dis-
placed from its true position. This apparent motion is due to
the finite velocity of light, and the progressive motion of the
observer with the earth, as it performs its yearly course about
the sun. It may be familiarized by the following illustrations.
Alexis Claude Clairaut gave this figure: Imagine rain to be
falling vertically, and a person carrying a thin perpendicular
tube to be standing on the ground. If the bearer be stationary,
rain-drops will traverse the tube without touching its sides;
if, however, the person be walking, the tube must be inclined
at an angle varying as his velocity in order that the rain may
traverse the tube centrally. J. J. L. de Lalande gave the illus-
tration of a roofed carriage with an open front: if the carriage
be stationary, no rain enters; if, however, it be moving, rain
enters at the front. The " umbrella " analogy is possibly the
best known figure. When stationary, the most efficient position
in which to hold an umbrella is obviously vertical; when walk-
ing, the umbrella must be held more and more inclined from the
vertical as the walker quickens his pace. Another familiar figure,
pointed out by P. L. M. de Maupertuis, is that a sportsman,
when aiming at a bird on the wing, sights his gun some distance
ahead of the bird, the distance being proportional to the velocity
of the bird. The mechanical idea, named the parallelogram of
velocities, permits a ready and easy graphical representation of
these facts. Reverting to the analogy of Clairaut,
let AB (fig. 1) represent the velocity of the rain, and
AC the relative velocity of the person bearing the
tube. The diagonal AD of the parallelogram, of
which AB and AC are adjacent sides, will represent,
Fig. 1. both in direction and magnitude, the motion of the
rain as apparent to the observer. Hence for the
rain to centrally traverse the tube, this must be inclined at an
angle BAD to the vertical; this angle is conveniently termed
the aberration due to these two motions. The umbrella analogy
is similarly explained; the most efficient position being when
the stick points along the resultant AD.

The discovery of the aberration of light in 1725, due to James
Bradley, is one of the most important in the whole domain of

astronomy. That it was unexpected there can be no doubt;
and it was only by extraordinary perseverance and perspicuity
that Bradley was able to explain it in 1727. Its origin is seated
in attempts made to free from doubt the prevailing discordances
as to whether the stars possessed appreciable parallaxes. The
Copernican theory of the solar system — that the earth revolved
annually about the sun — had received confirmation by the ob-
servations of Galileo and Tycho Brahe, and the mathematical
investigations of Kepler and Newton. As early as 1 573, Thomas
Digges had suggested that this theory should necessitate a
parallactic shifting of the stars, and, consequently, if such stellar
parallaxes existed, then the Copernican theory would receive
additional confirmation. Many observers claimed to have
determined such parallaxes, but Tycho Brahe and G. B. Riccioli
concluded that they existed only in the minds of the observers,
and were due to instrumental and personal errors. In 1680
Jean Picard, in his Voyage d'Uranibourg, stated, as a result of
ten years' observations, that Polaris, or the Pole Star, exhibited
variations in its position amounting to 40" annually; some
astronomers endeavoured to explain this by parallax, but these
attempts were futile, for the motion was at variance with that
which parallax would occasion. J. Flamsteed, from measure-
ments made in 1689 and succeeding years with his mural quad-
rant, similarly concluded that the declination of the Pole Star
was 40' less in July than in September. R. Hooke, in 1674,
published his observations of y Draconis, a star of the second
magnitude which passes practically overhead in the latitude of
London, and whose observations are therefore singularly free
from the complex corrections due to astronomical refraction,
and concluded that this star was 23" more northerly in July
than in October.

When James Bradley and Samuel Molyneux entered this
sphere of astronomical research in 1725, there consequently
prevailed much uncertainty as to whether stellar parallaxes
had been observed or not; and it was with the intention of
definitely answering this question that these astronomers
erected a large telescope at the house of the latter at Kew.
They determined to reinvestigate the motion of y Draconis; the
telescope, constructed by George Graham (1675-1751), a cele-
brated instrument-maker, was affixed to a vertical chimney-
stack, in such maimer as to permit a small oscillation of the
eyepiece, the amount of which, i.e. the deviation from the vertical,
was regulated and measured by the introduction of a screw and
a plumb-line. The instrument was set up in November 1725,
and observations on y Draconis were made on the 3rd, 5th, nth,
and 1 2th of December. There was apparently no shifting of
the star, which was therefore thought to be at its most southerly
point. On the 17th of December, however, Bradley observed
that the star was moving southwards, a motion further shown
by observations on the 20th. These results were unexpected,
and, in fact, inexplicable by existing theories; and an examina-
tion of the telescope showed that the observed anomalies were
not due to instrumental errors. The observations were continued,
and the star was seen to continue its southerly course until
March, when it took up a position some 20" more southerly than
its December position. After March it began to pass north-
wards, a motion quite apparent by the middle of April; in June
it passed at the same distance from the zenith as it did in De-
cember; and in September it passed through its most northerly
position, the extreme range from north to south, i.e. the angle
between the March and September positions, being 40*.

This motion is evidently not due to parallax, for, in this case,
the maximum range should be between the June and December
positions; neither was it due to observational errors. Bradley
and Molyneux discussed several hypotheses in the hope of
fixing the solution. One hypothesis was: while y Draconis was
stationary, the plumb-line, from which the angular measurements
were made, varied; this would follow if the axis of the earth
varied. The oscillation of the earth's axis may arise in two
distinct ways; distinguished as " nutation of the axis " and
" variation of latitude. " Nutation, the only form of oscilla-
tion imagined by Bradley, postulates that while the earth's

ABERRATION

axis is fixed with respect to the earth, i.e. the north and south
poles occupy permanent geographical positions, yet the axis
is not directed towards a fixed point in the heavens; variation
of latitude, however, is associated with the shifting of the axis
within the earth, i.e. the geographical position of the north pole
Varies.

Nutation of the axis would determine a similar apparent
motion for all stars: thus, all stars having the same polar
distance as 7 Draconis should exhibit the same apparent motion
after or before this star by a constant interval. Many stars
satisfy the condition of equality of polar distance with that of
7 Draconis, but few were bright enough to be observed in Moly-
neux's telescope. One such star, however, with a right ascension
nearly equal to that of 7 Draconis, but in the opposite sense,
was selected and kept under observation. This star was seen
to possess an apparent motion similar to that which would be a
consequence of the nutation of the earth's axis; but since its
declination varied only one half as much as in the case of 7 Dra-
conis, it was obvious that nutation did not supply the requisite
solution. The question as to whether the motion was due to an
irregular distribution of the earth's atmosphere, thus involving
abnormal variations in the refractive index, was also investi-
gated; here, again, negative results were obtained.

Bradley had already perceived, in the case of the two stars
previously scrutinized, that the apparent difference of declina-
tion from the maximum positions was nearly proportional to
the sun's distance from the equinoctial points; and he realized
the necessity for more observations before any generalization
could be attempted. For this purpose he repaired to the Rectory,
Wanstead, then the residence of Mrs Pound, the widow of his
uncle James Pound, with whom he had made many observations
of the heavenly bodies. Here he had set up, on the 19th of
August 1727, a more convenient telescope than that at Kew,
its range extending over 6\° on each side of the zenith, thus
covering a far larger area of the sky. Two hundred stars in the
British Catalogue of Flamsteed traversed its field of view; and,
of these, about fifty were kept under close observation. His
conclusions may be thus summarized: (1) only stars near the
solstitial colure had their maximum north and south positions
when the sun was near the equinoxes, (2) each star was at its
maximum positions when it passed the zenith at six o'clock
morning and evening (this he afterwards showed to be inaccurate,
and found the greatest change in declination to be proportional
to the latitude of the star), (3) the apparent motions of all stars
at about the same time was in the same direction.

A re-examination of his previously considered hypotheses as
to the cause of these phenomena was fruitless; the true theory
was ultimately discovered by a pure accident, comparable in
simplicity and importance with the association of a falling apple
with the discovery of the principle of universal gravitation.
Sailing on the river Thames, Bradley repeatedly observed the
shifting of a vane on the mast as the boat altered its course;
and, having been assured that the motion of the vane meant
that the boat, and not the wind, had altered its direction, he
realized that the position taken up by the vane was determined
by the motion of the boat and the direction of the wind. The
application of this observation to the phenomenon which had so
long perplexed him was not difficult, and, in 1727, he published
his theory of the aberration of light — a corner-stone of the
edifice of astronomical science. Let S (fig. 2) be a star and the
s observer be carried along the line AB; let SB be
perpendicular to AB. If the observer be stationary
at B, the star will appear in the direction BS; if,
however, he traverses the distance BA in the same
time as light passes from the star to his eye, the star will
appear in the direction AS. Since, however, the ob-
server is not conscious of his own translatpry motion
with the earth in its orbit, the star appears to have
a displacement which is at all times parallel to the motion
of the observer. To generalize this, let S (fig. 3) be the sun,
ABCD the earth's orbit, and $ the true position of a star.
When the earth is at A, in consequence of aberration, the star

Fig. 2.

Fig. 3.

is displaced to a point a, its displacement sa being parallel to
the earth's motion at A; when the earth is at B, the star
appears at b; and so on
throughout an orbital re-
volution of the earth. Every
star, therefore, describes an
apparent orbit, which, if the
line joining the sun and the
star be perpendicular to
the plane ABCD, will be ex-
actly similar to that of the
earth, i.e. almost a circle.
As the star decreases in lati-
tude, this circle will be
viewed more and more ob-
liquely, becoming a flatter
and flatter ellipse until, with A j-
zero latitude, it degenerates
into a straight line (fig. 4).

The major axis of any
such aberrational ellipse is
always parallel to AC, i.e. the
ecliptic, and since it is equal
to the ratio of the velocity
of light to the velocity of the earth, it is necessarily constant.
This constant length subtends an angle of about 40" at the
earth; the " constant of aberration " is half this angle. The
generally accepted value is 20-445", due to Struve; the last two
figures are uncertain, and all that can be definitely affirmed
is that the value lies between 20-43" an< ^ 20-48". The minor axis,
on the other hand, is not constant, but, as we have already
seen, depends on the latitude, being the product of
the major axis into the sine of the latitude.

Assured that his explanation was true, Bradley cor-
rected his observations for aberration, but he found
that there still remained a residuum which was evi-
dently not a parallax, for it did not exhibit an annual
cycle. He reverted to his early idea of a nutation of
the earth's axis, and was rewarded by the discovery
that the earth did possess such an oscillation (see
Astronomy). Bradley recognized the fact that the-
experimental determination of the aberration constant
gave the ratio of the velocities of light and of the
earth; hence', if the velocity of the earth be known,
the velocity of light is determined. In recent years
much attention has been given to the nature of the
propagation of light from the heavenly bodies to the earth, the
argument generally being centred about the relative effect of
the motion of the aether on the velocity of light. This subject is
discussed in the articles Aether and Light.

References. — A detailed account of Bradley's work is given in
S. Rigaud, Memoirs of Bradley (1832), and in Charles Hutton,
Mathematical and Philosophical Dictionary (1795); a particularly
clear and lucid account is given in H. H. Turner, Astronomical
Discovery (1904). The subject receives treatment in all astronomical
works.

II. Aberration in Optical Systems

Aberration in optical systems, i.e. in lenses or mirrors or a
series of them, may be defined as the non-concurrence of rays
from the points of an object after transmission through the
system; it happens generally that an image formed by such a
system is irregular, and consequently the correction of optical
systems for aberration is of fundamental importance to the
instrument-maker. Reference should be made to the articles
Reflexion, Refraction, and Caustic for the general char-
acters of reflected and refracted rays (the article Lens considers
in detail the properties of this instrument, and should also be
consulted) ; in this article will be discussed the nature, varieties
and modes of aberrations mainly from the practical point of
view, i.e. that of the optical-instrument maker.

Aberrations may be divided in two classes: chromatic (Gr.
X/w/ta, colour) aberrations, caused by the composite nature of

Lit. 50*

Lat6o*

Lat 31?
Lat.o*

Fig. 4.

ABERRATION

the light generally applied (e.g. white light), which is dispersed
by refraction, and monochromatic (Gr. pbvos, one) aberrations
produced without dispersion. Consequently the monochro-
matic class includes the aberrations at reflecting surfaces of any
coloured light, and at refracting surfaces of monochromatic or
bght of single wave length.

(a) Monochromatic Aberration.

The elementary theory of optical systems leads to the theorem:
Rays of light proceeding from any " object point " unite in an
" image point "; and therefore an " object space " is repro-
duced in an " image space." The introduction of simple auxiliary
terms, due to C. F. Gauss (Dioptrische Untersuchungen, Got-
tingen, 1841), named the focal lengths and focal planes, permits
the determination of the image of any object for any system
(see Lens). The Gaussian theory, however, is only true so long
as the angles made by all rays with the optical axis (the symmet-
rical axis of the system) are infinitely small, i.e. with infinitesimal
objects, images and lenses; in practice these conditions are not
realized, and the images projected by uncorrected systems are,
in general, ill defined and often completely blurred, if the aper-
ture or field of view exceeds certain limits. The investigations
of James Clerk Maxwell (Phil.Mag., 1856; Quart. Journ. Math.,
1858, and Ernst Abbe 1 ) showed that the properties of these
reproductions, i.e. the relative position and magnitude of the
images, are not special properties of optical systems, but neces-
sary consequences of the supposition (in Abbe) of the repro-
duction of all points of a space in image points (Maxwell assumes
a less general hypothesis), and are independent of the manner
in which the reproduction is effected. These authors proved,
however, that no optical system can justify these suppositions,
since they are contradictory to the fundamental laws of reflexion
and refraction. Consequently the Gaussian theory only supplies
a convenient method of approximating to reality; and no con-
structor would attempt to realize this unattainable ideal. All
that at present can be attempted is, to reproduce a single plane
in another plane; but even this has not been altogether satis-
factorily accomplished, aberrations always occur, and it is im-
probable that these will ever be entirely corrected.

This, and related general questions, have been treated — besides
the above-mentioned authors — by M. Thiesen (Berlin. Akad. Silzber. ,
1890, xxxv. 799; Berlin.Phys.Ges.Verh., 1892) and H. Bruns (Leipzig.
Math. Phys. Ber., 1895, xxi. 325) by means of Sir W. R. Hamilton s
"characteristic function" (Irish Acad. Trans., "Theory of Systems
of Rays," 1828, et seq.). Reference may also be made to the treatise
of Czapski-Eppenstein, pp. 155-161.

A review of the simplest cases of aberration will now be given.
(1) Aberration of axial points (Spherical aberration in the re-
stricted sense). If S (fig.5) be any optical system, rays pro-
ceeding from an axis point O under an angle «i will unite in the
axis point O'i ; and those under an angle w 2 in the axis point 0' 2 .
If there be refraction at a collective spherical surface, or through
a thin positive lens, 0' 2 will lie in front of O'i so long as the angle
tt 2 is greater than «i ("under correction"); and conversely
with a dispersive surface or lenses ("over correction"). The
caustic, in the first case, resembles the sign > (greater than) ;
in the second < (less than). If the angle «i be very small, O'i
is the Gaussian image; and O'i 0' 2 is termed the " longitudinal
aberration," and 0'iR the " lateral aberration " of the pencils
with aperture w 2 . If the pencil with the angle « 2 be that of the
maximum aberration of all the pencils transmitted, then in a
plane perpendicular to the axis at O'i there is a circular " disk
of confusion" of radius 0'iR, and in a parallel plane at 0' 2
another one of radius 0' 2 R 2 ; between these two is situated the
" disk of least confusion."

The largest opening of the pencils, which take part in the
reproduction of 0, i.e. the angle u, is generally determined by
the margin of one of the lenses or by a. hole in a thin plate placed
between, before, or behind the lenses of the system. This hole
is termed the "stop" or "diaphragm"; Abbe used the term
"aperture stop " for both the hole and the limiting margin of the

1 The investigations of E. Abbe on geometrical optics, originally
published only in his university lectures, were first compiled by
S. Czapski in 1893. See below, Authorities.

lens. The component Si of the system, situated between the
aperture stop and the object 0, projects an image of the dia-
phragm, termed by Abbe the "entrance pupil"; the "exit
pupil " is the image formed by the component S 2 , which is placed
behind the aperture stop. All rays which issue from O and pass
through the aperture stop also pass through the entrance and
exit pupils, since these are images of the aperture stop. Since
the maximum aperture of the pencils issuing from is the angle
u subtended by the entrance pupil at this point, the magni-
tude of the aberration will be determined by the position and
diameter of the entrance pupil. If the system be entirely hehind
the aperture stop, then this is itself the entrance pupil (" front
stop "); if entirely in front, it is the exit pupil (" back stop ").

If the object point be infinitely distant, all rays received by
the first member of the system are parallel, and their inter-
sections, after traversing the system, vary according to their
" perpendicular height of incidence," i.e. their distance from
the axis. This distance replaces the angle u in the preceding
considerations; and the aperture, i.e. the radius of the entrance
pupil, is its maximum value.

(2) Aberration of elements, i.e. smallest objects at right angles
to the axis. — If rays issuing from O (fig. 5) be concurrent, it
does not follow •

that points in a
portion of a plane
perpendicular at
O to the axis
will be also con- O
current, even if
the part of the
plane be very
small. With

a considerable
aperture, the
neighbouring
point N will be reproduced, but attended by aberrations com-
parable in magnitude to ON. These aberrations are avoided
if, according to Abbe, the " sine condition," sin tt'i/sin «i = sin
«' 2 /sin m 2 , holds for all rays reproducing the point O. If the
object point be infinitely distant, «i and « 2 are to be replaced
by hi and h 2 , the perpendicular heights of incidence; the " sine
condition " then becomes sin tt'i/Ai=sin tt' 2 /A 2 . A system ful-
filling this condition and free from spherical aberration is called
" aplanatic " (Greek a-, privative, ifKLvr), a wandering). This
word was first used by Robert Blair (d. 1828), professor of prac-
tical astronomy at Edinburgh University, to characterize a
superior achromatism, and, subsequently, by many writers to
denote freedom from spherical aberration. Both the aberration
of axis points, and the deviation from the sine condition, rapidly
increase in most (uncorrected) systems with the aperture.

(3) Aberration of lateral object points (points beyond the axis)
with narrow pencils. Astigmatism. — A point (fig. 6) at a
finite distance from the
axis (or with an infinitely ° '
distant object, a point
which subtends a finite
angle at the system) is,
in general, even then not
sharply reproduced, if
the pencil of rays issuing
from it and traversing

EAtr.
pup.

■ Fig. 5.

Fig. 6.

the system is made infinitely narrow by reducing the aperture
stop; such a pencil consists of the rays which can pass from
the object point through the now infinitely small entrance
pupil. It is seen (ignoring exceptional cases) that the pencil
does not meet the refracting or reflecting surface at right angles;
therefore it is astigmatic (Gr. a-, privative, oTiyjua, a point).
Naming the central ray passing through the entrance pupil the
" axis of the pencil " or " principal ray," we can say: the rays
of the pencil intersect, not in one point, but in two focal lines,
which we can assume to be at right angles to the principal ray;
of these, one lies in the plane containing the principal ray and

ABERRATION

the axis of the system, i.e. in the " first principal section " or
" meridional section," and the other at right angles to it, i.e. in
the second principal section or sagittal section. We receive,
therefore, in no single intercepting plane behind the system, as,
for example, a focussing screen, an image of the object point;
on the other hand, in each of two planes lines 0' and O* are
separately formed (in neighbouring planes ellipses are formed),
and in a plane between O' and O" a circle of least confusion.
The interval O'O", termed the astigmatic difference, increases,
in general, with the angle W made by the principal ray OP with
the axis of the system, i.e. with the field of view. Two " astig-
matic image surfaces " correspond to one object plane; and these
are in contact at the axis point; on the one lie the focal lines
of the first kind, on the other those of the second. Systems in
which the two astigmatic surfaces coincide are termed ana-
stigmatic or stigmatic.

Sir Isaac Newton was probably the discoverer of astigmation;
the position of the astigmatic image lines was determined by Thomas
Young (.4 Course of Lectures on Natural Philosophy, 1807); and
the theory has been recently developed by A. Gullstrand (Skand.
Arch. f. physiol., 1890, 2, p. 269; Allgemeine Theorie der monochromal.
Aberrationen, etc., Upsala, 1900; Arch.f. Ophth., 1901, 53, pp. 2, 185).
A bibliography by P. Culmann is given in M. von Rohr's Die Bilder-
zeugung in optischen Inslrumenlen (Berlin, 1904).

(4) Aberration of lateral object points with broad pencils. Coma.
— By opening the stop wider, similar deviations arise for lateral
points as have been already discussed for axial points; but in
this case they are much more complicated. The course of the
rays in the meridional section is no longer symmetrical to the
principal ray of the pencil; and on an intercepting plane there
appears, instead of a luminous point, a patch of light, not sym-
metrical about a point, and often exhibiting a resemblance to a
comet having its tail directed towards or away from the axis.
From this appearance it takes its name. The unsymmetrical form
of the meridional pencil — formerly the only one considered — is
coma in the narrower sense only; other errors of coma have been
treated by A. Konig and M. von Rohr (op. cit.), and more recently
by A. Gullstrand (op. cit.; Ann. d. Phys., 1905, 18, p. 941).

(5) Curvature of the field of the image. — If the above errors
be eliminated, the two astigmatic surfaces united, and a sharp
image obtained with a wide aperture — there remains the necessity
to correct the curvature of the image surface, especially when the
image is to be received upon a plane surface, e.g. in photography.
In most cases the surface is concave towards the system.

(6) Distortion of the image. — If now the image be sufficiently
sharp, inasmuch as the rays proceeding from every object point
meet in an image point of satisfactory exactitude, it may happen
that the image is distorted, i.e. not sufficiently like the object.
This error consists in the different parts of the object being re-
produced with different magnifications; for instance, the inner
parts may differ in greater magnification than the outer (" barrel-
shaped distortion "), or conversely (" cushion-shaped distortion")
(see fig. 7). Systems free of this aberration are called " ortho-
scope " (6pQ6s, right,
o-Konreiv, to look).
This aberration is
quite distinct from
that of the sharpness
of reproduction ; in
unsharp reproduction,
the question of dis-
tortion arises if only

parts of the object can be recognized in the figure. If, in
an unsharp image, a patch of light corresponds to an object
point, the " centre of gravity " of the patch may be regarded
as the image point, this being the point where the plane receiv-
ing the image, e.g. a focussing screen, intersects the ray passing
through the middle of the stop. This assumption is justified if
a poor image on the focussing screen remains stationary when
the aperture is diminished; in practice, this generally occurs.
This ray, named by Abbe a " principal ray " (not to be confused
with the "principal rays" of the Gaussian theory), passes
through the centre of the entrance pupil before the first refraction,

Object

Barrel shaped

Cushion shaped

Distorted image

Fig. 7.

and the centre of the exit pupil after the last refraction. From
this it follows that correctness of drawing depends solely upon the
principal rays; and is independent of the sharpness or curvature
of the image field. Referring to fig. 8, we have O'Q'/OQ =a'
tan w'/a tan w=i/N, where N is the " scale " or magnification
of the image. For N to be constant for all values of w, a' tan w'l
a tan w must also be constant. If the ratio a'/a be sufficiently
constant, as is often the case, the above relation reduces to the
" condition of Airy," i.e. tan w'l tan w=& constant. This
simple relation (see Camb. Phil. Trans., 1830, 3, p. 1) is fulfilled
in all systems which are symmetrical with respect to their
diaphragm (briefly named " symmetrical or holosymmetrical
objectives "), or which consist of two like, but different-sized,
components, placed from the diaphragm in the ratio of their
size, and presenting the same curvature to it (hemisymmetrical
objectives); in these systems tan w'l tan w= 1. The constancy
of a' la necessary for this re-
lation to bold was pointed out ^
by R. Hi Bow (Brit. Journ.
Photog., 1861), and Thomas
Sutton (Photographic Notes,
1862); it has been treated by
0. Lummer and by M. von
Rohr (Zeit. f. Instrumentenk.,
1897, 17, and 1898, 18, p. 4).
It requires the middle of the aperture stop to be reproduced
in the centres of the entrance and exit pupils without spherical
aberration. M. von Rohr showed that for systems fulfilling
neither the Airy nor the Bow-Sutton condition, the ratio
a' tanw'/a tan w will be constant for one distance of the object.
This combined condition is exactly fulfilled by holosymmetrical
objectives reproducing with the scale 1, and by hemisymmetrical,
if the scale of reproduction be equal to the ratio of the sizes of
the two components.

Analytic Treatment of Aberrations. — The preceding review of
the several errors of reproduction belongs to the " Abbe theory
of aberrations," in which definite aberrations are discussed separ-
ately; it is well suited to practical needs, for in the construction
of an optical instrument certain errors are sought to be elimi-
nated, the selection of which is justified by experience. In the
mathematical sense, however, this selection is arbitrary; the re-
production of a finite object with a finite aperture entails, in all
probability, an infinite number of aberrations. This number is
only finite if the object and aperture are assumed to be " in-
finitely small of a certain order"; and with each order of infinite
smallness, i.e. with each degree of approximation to reality (to
finite objects and apertures), a certain number of aberrations
is associated. This connexion is only supplied by theories
which treat aberrations generally and analytically by means of
indefinite series.

A ray proceeding from an object point (fig. 9) can be de-
fined by the co-ordinates (£, rj) of this point O in an object plane I,
at right angles
to the axis, and
two other co-
ordinates (x, y),
the point in
which the ray
intersects the
entrance pupil,

i.e. the plane II. Similarly the corresponding image ray may
be defined by the points (%',v'), and (x', y'), in the planes I' and
II'. The origins of these four plane co-ordinate systems may be
collinear with the axis of the optical system; and the corre-
sponding axes may be parallel. Each of the four co-ordinates
£,i]',x',y' are functions of £,i],x,y, and if it be assumed that the
field of view and the aperture be infinitely small, then £ , 17, x, y
are of the same order of infinitesimals; consequently by expand-
ing £', ij', x', y' in ascending powers of £, rj, x, y, series are ob-
tained in which it is only necessary to consider the lowest powers.
It is readily seen that if the optical system be symmetrical, the
origins of the co-ordinate systems collinear with the optical axis

Fig. 9.

ABERRATION

and the corresponding axes parallel, then by changing the signs
of £ ,ri, x, y, the values £', rf, x , y must likewise change their sign,
but retain their arithmetical values; this means that the series
are restricted to odd powers of the unmarked variables.

The nature of the reproduction consists in the rays proceeding
from a point O being united in another point O'; in general, this
will not be the case, for £', ij' vary if £, t] be constant, but x, y
variable. It may be assumed that the planes I' and II' are
drawn where the images of the planes I and II are formed by
rays near the axis by the ordinary Gaussian rules; and by an
extension of these rules, not, however, corresponding to reality,
the Gauss image point 0' , with co-ordinates £'o, »?'o, of the
point O at some distance from the axis could be constructed.
Writing A£' = £'— £'o and Aij' = »?' — r)' , then A£' and Aij' are
the aberrations belonging to £, t] and x, y, and are functions of
these magnitudes which, when expanded in series, contain only
odd powers, for the same reasons as given above. On account
of the aberrations of all rays which pass through O, a patch of
light, depending in size on the lowest powers of £, ij, x, y which
the aberrations contain, will be formed in the plane I'. These
degrees, named by J. Petzval (Berichl iiber die Ergebnisse einiger
dioplrischer Untersuchungen, Buda Pesth, 1843; Akad. Sitzber.,
Wien, 1857, vols.xxiv.xxvi.) "the numerical orders of the image,"
are consequently only odd powers; the condition for the for-
mation of an image of the mth order is that in the series for A£'
and A»j' the coefficients of the powers of the 3rd, 5th . . .
(m-2)th degrees must vanish. The images of the Gauss theory
being of the third order, the next problem is to obtain an image
of 5th order, or to make the coefficients of the powers of 3rd
degree zero. This necessitates the satisfying of five equations;
in other words, there are five alterations of the 3rd order, the
vanishing of which produces an image of the 5th order.

The expression for these coefficients in terms of the constants
of the optical system, i.e. the radii, thicknesses, refractive indices
and distances between the lenses, was solved by L. Seidel (Astr.
Nach. K 1856, p. 289); in 1840, J. Petzval constructed his portrait
objective, unexcelled even at the present day, from similar cal-
culations, which have never been published (see M. von Rohr,
Theorie und Geschichte des photographischen Objectivs, Berlin, 1899,
p. 248). The theory was elaborated by S. Finterswalder (Miinchen.
Akad. Abhandl., 1891, 17, p. 519), who also published a posthumous
paper of Seidel containing a short view of his work (Miinchen. Akad.
Sitzber., 1898,28, p. 395) ; a simpler form wasgivenbyA.KerberfBei-
trage zur Dtoptrik, Leipzig, 1895-6-7-8^9). A. Konigand M. von Rohr
(see M. von Rohr, Die Bilderzeugung in optischen Instrumenlen, pp.
3 I 7-3 2 3) have represented Kerber's method, and have deduced the
Seidel formulae from geometrical considerations based on the Abbe
method, and have interpreted the analytical results geometrically

(pp. 212-316).

The aberrations can also be expressed by means of the "char-
acteristic function " of the system and its differential coefficients,
instead of by the radii, &c, of the lenses; these formulae are not
immediately applicable, but give, however, the relation between the
number of aberrations and the order. Sir William Rowan Hamilton
{British Assoc. Report, 1833, p. 360) thus derived the aberrations of
the third order; and in later times the method was pursued by
Clerk Maxwell (Proc. London Math. Soc, 1874-1875; see also the
treatises of R. S. Heath and L. A. Herman), M. Thiesen (Berlin.
Akad. Sitzber., 1890, 35, p. 804), H. Bruns (Leipzig. Math. Phys.Ber.,
1895, 21, p. 410), and particularly successfully by K. Schwartzschild
(Gottingen. Akad. Abhandt., 1905, 4, No. 1), who thus discovered the
aberrations of the 5th order (of which there are nine), and possibly
the shortest proof of the practical (Seidel) formulae. A. Gullstrand
(vide supra, and Ann. d. Phys., 1905, 18, p. 941) founded his theory
of aberrations on the differential geometry of surfaces.

The aberrations of the third order are: (1) aberration of the
axis point; (2) aberration of points whose distance from the
Aberra- ax ' s ' s verv small, less than of the third order — the
tloas 0/ deviation from the sine condition and coma here fall
the third together in one class; (3) astigmatism; (4) curvature
order - of the field; (5) distortion.

(1) Aberration of the third order of axis points is dealt with
in all text-books on optics. It is important for telescope objec-
tives, since their apertures are so small as to permit higher
orders to be neglected. For a single lens of very small thickness
and given power, the aberration depends upon the ratio of the
radii r: r 1 , and is a minimum (but never zero) for a certain value
of this ratio; it varies inversely with the refractive index (the

power of the lens remaining constant). The total aberration of
two or more very thin lenses in contact, being the sum of the
individual aberrations, can be zero. This is also possible if the
lenses have the same algebraic sign. Of thin positive lenses with
»=i-5, four are necessary to correct spherical aberration of the
third order. These systems, however, are not of great practical
importance. In most cases, two thin lenses are combined, one of
which has just so strong a positive aberration (" under-correc-
tion," vide supra) as the other a negative; the first must be a
positive lens and the second a negative lens; the powers, however,
may differ, so that the desired effect of the lens is maintained.
It is generally an advantage to secure a great refractive effect
by several weaker than by one high-power lens. By one, and
likewise by several, and even by an infinite number of thin
lenses in contact, no more than two axis points can be repro-
duced without aberration of the third order. Freedom from
aberration for two axis points, one of which is infinitely distant,
is known as " Herschel's condition." All these rules are valid,
inasmuch as the thicknesses and distances of the lenses are not
to be taken into account.

(2) The condition for freedom from coma in the third order is
also of importance for telescope objectives; it is known as
" Fraunhofer's Condition." (4) After eliminating the aberration
on the axis, coma and astigmatism, the relation for the flatness
of the field in the third order is expressed by the " Petzval
equation," 2i//-(«'-w) = o, where r is the radius of a refracting
surface, n and n' the refractive indices of the neighbouring
media, and S the sign of summation for all refracting surfaces.

Practical Elimination of Aberrations. — The existence of an
optical system, which reproduces absolutely a finite plane on
another with pencils of finite aperture, is doubtful; but practical
systems solve this problem with an accuracy which mostly
suffices for the special purpose of each species of instrument.
The problem of finding a system which reproduces a given object
upon a given plane with given magnification (in so far as aber-
rations must be taken into account) could be dealt with by
means of the approximation theory; in most cases, however,
the analytical difficulties are too great. Solutions, however, have
been obtained in special cases (see A. Konig in M. von Rohr's
Die Bilderzeugung, p. 373; K. Schwarzschild, Gottingen. Akad.
Abhandl., 1905, 4, Nos. 2 and 3). At the present time constructors
almost always employ the inverse method: they compose a
system from certain, often quite personal experiences, and test,
by the trigonometrical calculation of the paths of several rays,
whether the system gives the desired reproduction (examples
are given in A. Gleichen, Lehrbuch der geometrischen Optik,
Leipzig and Berlin, 1902). The radii, thicknesses and distances
are continually altered until the errors of the image become
sufficiently small. By this method only certain errors of repro-
duction are investigated, especially individual members, or all,
of those named above. The analytical approximation theory
is often employed provisionally, since its accuracy does not
generally suffice.

In order to render spherical aberration and the deviation
from the sine condition small throughout the whole aperture,
there is given to a ray with a finite angle of aperture w* (with
infinitely distant objects: with a finite height of incidence h*)
the same distance of intersection, and the same sine ratio as to
one neighbouring the axis (u* or h* may not be much smaller
than the largest aperture U or H to be used in the system).
ThcTays with an angle of aperture smaller than u* would not
have the same distance of intersection and the same sine ratio;
these deviations are called "zones," and the constructor en-
deavours to reduce these to a minimum. The same holds for
the errors depending upon the angle of the field of view, w.
astigmatism, curvature of field and distortion are eliminated
for a definite value, w*; "zones of astigmatism, curvature of
field and distortion " attend smaller values of w. The practical
optician names such systems: "corrected for the angle of
aperture u* (the height of incidence h*), or the angle of field of
view w*." Spherical aberration and changes of the sine ratios
are often represented graphically as functions of the aperture,

ABERRATION

in the same way as the deviations of two astigmatic image sur-
faces of the image plane of the axis point are represented as
functions of the angles of the field of view.

The final form of a practical system consequently rests on
compromise; enlargement of the aperture results in a diminution
of the available field of view, and vice versa. The following
may be regarded as typical: — (i) Largest aperture; necessary
corrections are — for the axis point, and sine condition; errors
of the field of view are almost disregarded; example — high-
power microscope objectives. (2) Largest field of view; neces-
sary corrections are — for astigmatism, curvature of field and
distortion; errors of the aperture only slightly regarded; ex-
amples — photographic widest angle objectives and oculars.
Between these extreme examples stands the ordinary photo-
graphic objective: the portrait objective is corrected more with
regard to aperture; objectives for groups more with regard to
the field of view. (3) Telescope objectives have usually not
very large apertures, and small fields of view; they should,
however, possess zones as small as possible, and be built in the
simplest manner. They are the best for analytical computation.

(6) Chromatic or Colour Aberration.

In optical systems composed of lenses, the position, magnitude
and errors of the image depend upon the refractive indices of
the glass employed (see Lens, and above, " Monochromatic
Aberration"). Since the index of refraction varies with the colour
or wave length of the light (see Dispersion), it follows that a
system of lenses (uncorrected) projects images of different
colours in somewhat different places and sizes and with differ-
ent aberrations; i.e. there are " chromatic differences " of
the distances of intersection, of magnifications, and of mono-
chromatic aberrations. If mixed light be employed (e.g. white
light) all these images are formed; and since they are all ulti-
mately intercepted by a plane (the retina of the eye, a focussing
screen of a camera, &c), they cause a confusion, named chro-
matic aberration; for instance, instead of a white margin on a
dark background, there is perceived a coloured margin, or
narrow spectrum. The absence of this error is termed achroma-
tism, and an optical system so corrected is termed achromatic.
A system is said to be " chromatically under-corrected " when it
shows the same kind of chromatic error as a thin positive lens,
otherwise it is said to be " over-corrected."

If, in the first place, monochromatic aberrations be neglected
— in other words, the Gaussian theory be accepted — then every
reproduction is determined by the positions of the focal planes,
and the magnitude of the focal lengths, or if the focal lengths,
as ordinarily happens, be equal, by three constants of repro-
duction. These constants are determined by the data of the
system (radii, thicknesses, distances, indices, &c, of the lenses);
therefore their dependence on the refractive index, and conse-
quently on the colour, are calculable (the formulae are given
in Czapski-Eppenstein, Grundzilge der Theorie der optischen
Inslrtimente (1903, p. 166). The refractive indices for different
wave lengths must be known for each kind of glass made use of.
In this manner the conditions are maintained that any one
constant of reproduction is equal for two different colours, i.e.
this constant is achromatized. For example, it is possible,
with one thick lens in air, to achromatize the position of a focal
plane of the magnitude of the focal length. If all three constants
of reproduction be achromatized, then the Gaussian image for
all distances of objects is the same for the two colours, and the
system is said to be in " stable achromatism."

In practice it is more advantageous (after Abbe) to determine
the chromatic aberration (for instance, that of the distance of
intersection) for a fixed position of the object, and express it by
a sum in which each component contains the amount due to
each refracting surface (see Czapski-Eppenstein, -op. cil. p. 170;
A. Konig in M. v. Rohr's collection, Die Bilderzeugung, p. 340).
In a plane containing the image point of one colour, another
colour produces a disk of confusion; this is similar to the con-
fusion caused by two " zones " in spherical aberration. For
infinitely distant objects the radius of the chromatic disk of

confusion is proportional to the linear aperture, and independent
of the focal length (vide supra, " Monochromatic Aberration of the
Axis Point ") ; and since this disk becomes the less harmful with
an increasing image of a given object, or with increasing focal
length, it. follows that the deterioration of the image is propor-
tional to the ratio of the aperture to the focal length, i.e. the
" relative aperture." (This explains the gigantic focal lengths in
vogue before the discovery of achromatism.)

Examples. — (a) In a very thin lens, in air, only one constant
of reproduction is to be observed, since the focal length and the
distance of the focal point are equal. If the refractive index
for one colour be n, and for another n-\-dn, and the powers, or
reciprocals of the focal lengths, be <j> and <t>+d<j>, then (1) d<j>/(j)
= dn/(n-i) = i/v; dn is called the dispersion, and v the dis-
persive power of the glass.

(b) Two thin lenses in contact: let fa and fa be the powers
corresponding to the lenses of refractive indices «i and m 2 and
radii r\, r*\, and r'2, r"z respectively; let <j> denote the total
power, and d<f>, dn\, dth the changes of <j>, «i, and n?. with the
colour. Then the following relations hold: —

(2) <j> = fa+fa=(n 1 -i)(i/r\-i/r\) + (n 2 -i)(i/r' 2 -i/r'' 2 ) =
(ni-i)£i-r-(«2-i)&2; and

(3) d<(> = kidni + kzdnz. For achromatism d<j> = o, hence,
from (3),

(4) k\/k2= -dnjdm, or fa/fa= -Vi/v 2 . Therefore fa and fa
must have different algebraic signs, or the system must be com-
posed of a collective and a dispersive lens. Consequently the
powers of the two must be different (in order that <t> be not zero
(equation 2)), and the dispersive powers must also be different
(according to 4).

Newton failed to perceive the existence^ of media of different
dispersive powers required by achromatism; consequently he
constructed large reflectors instead of refractors. James Gregory
and Leonhard Euler arrived at the correct view from a false con-
ception of the achromatism of the eye; this was determined by
Chester More Hall in 1728, Klingenstierna in 1754 and by Dollond
in 1757, who constructed the celebrated achromatic telescopes.
(See Telescope.)

Glass with weaker dispersive power (greater v) is named
"crown glass"; that with greater dispersive power, "flint
glass." For the construction of an achromatic collective lens
(<t> positive) it follows, by means of equation (4), that a collec-
tive lens I. of crown glass and a dispersive lens II. of flint glass
must be chosen; the latter, although the weaker, corrects the
other chromatically by its greater dispersive power. For an
achromatic dispersive lens the converse must be adopted.
This is, at the present day, the ordinary type,
e.g., of telescope objective (fig. 10); the values
of the four radii must satisfy the equations (2)
and (4). Two other conditions may also be pos-
tulated: one is always the elimination of the
aberration on the axis; the second either the
"Herschel" or " Fraunhofer condition," the
latter being the best (vide supra, " Monochromatic
Aberration "). In practice, however, it is often
more useful to avoid the second condition by
making the lenses have contact, i.e. equal
radii. According to P. Rudolph (Eder's Jahrb. f. Photog.,
1891, s, p. 225; 1893, 7, p. 221), cemented objectives of thin
lenses permit the elimination of spherical aberration on the
axis, if, as above, the collective lens has a smaller refractive
index; on the other hand, they permit the elimination of
astigmatism and curvature of the field, if the collective lens
has a greater refractive index (this follows from the Petzval
equation; see L. Seidel, Astr. Nachr., 1856, p. 289). Should the
cemented system be positive, then the more powerful lens must
be positive; and, according to (4), to the greater power belongs
the weaker dispersive power (greater v), that is to say, crown
glass; consequently the crown glass must have the greater
refractive index for astigmatic and plane images. In all earlier
kinds of glass, however, the dispersive power increased with
the refractive index; that is, v decreased as n increased; but
some of the Jena glasses by E. Abbe and 0. Schott were crown

Fig. 10.

ABERRATION

glasses of high refractive index, and achromatic systems from
such crown glasses, with flint glasses of lower refractive index,
are called the "new achromats," and were employed by P.
Rudolph in the first " anastigmats " (photographic objectives).
Instead of making d<j> vanish, a certain value can be assigned
to it which will produce, by the addition of the two lenses, any
desired chromatic deviation, e.g. sufficient to eliminate one
present in other parts of the system. If the lenses I. and II. be
cemented and have the same refractive index for one colour,
then its effect for that one colour is that of a lens of one piece;
by such decomposition of a lens it can be made chromatic or
achromatic at will, without altering its spherical effect. If its
chromatic effect (d<j>l<j>) be greater than that of the same lens,
this being made of the more dispersive of the two glasses em-
ployed, it is termed " hyper-chromatic."

For two thin lenses separated by a distance D the condition
for achromatism is D = (»i/i+»2/2) (»i+»2); if »i = »2 (e.g.
if the lenses be made of the same glass), this reduces to
D = i (/1+/2), known as the "condition for oculars."

If a constant of reproduction, for instance the focal length,
be made equal for two colours, then it is not the same for other
colours, if, two different glasses are employed. For example,
the condition for achromatism (4) for two thin lenses in contact
is fulfilled in only one part of the spectrum, since dn% \dn\ varies
within the spectrum. This fact was first ascertained by J.
Fraunhofer, who defined the colours by means of the dark lines
in the solar spectrum; and showed that the ratio of the disper-
sion of two glasses varied about 20% from the red to the violet
(the variation for glass and water is about 50%). If, therefore,
for two colours, a and b, f„=fb =/, then for a third colour, c, the
focal length is different, viz. if c lie between a and b, then f e </,
and vice versa; these algebraic results follow from the fact that
towards the red the dispersion of the positive crown glass pre-
ponderates, towards the violet that of the negative flint. These
chromatic errors of systems, which are achromatic for two
colours, are called the "secondary spectrum," and depend
upon the aperture and focal length in the same manner as the
primary chromatic errors do.

In fig. 11, taken from M. von Rohr's Theorie und Geschichte
des photo graphischen Objectivs, the abscissae are focal lengths,
and the ordinates wave-lengths; of the latter the Fraunhofer
lines used are —

A' C D Green Hg. F G' Violet Hg.

767-7 656-3 589-3 546-1 486-2 434-1 405-1 nn,

and the focal lengths are
made equal for the lines C
and F. In the neighbourhood
of 550 pp the tangent to the
curve is parallel to the axis
of wave-lengths; and the
focal length varies least over
a fairly large range of colour,
therefore in this neighbour-
hood the colour union is at
its best. Moreover, this region
of the spectrum is that which
appears brightest to the
human eye, and consequently
this curve of the secondary
spectrum, obtained by making
/c«=/f> is, according to the
experiments of Sir G. G.
. Stokes (Proc. Roy.Soc, 1878),
' the most suitable for visual

Fig n.-Secondary Spectrum of instrume nts (" optical achro-
the combination O. 1726, O. .. „> i r . ..
108. Optical correction/ c =/, = matism ). In a similar man-
100 mm. The ordinates give the ner, for systems used in photo-
wave-lengths in mi. The ab- graphy, the vertex of the
isae give /X -Jc m o-oi mm., colour curve must be placed

in the position of the maxi-
mum sensibility of the plates;
this is generally supposed to be at G'; and to accomplish this the

20 30 +44

700
C

•00

D
Cr.Hg.

soo

TiDlHg.

400

'»>

e r

»■'

commencing at fefv-

(From M. v. Rohr, op. cit.)

F and violet mercury lines are united. This artifice is specially
adopted in objectives for astronomical photography ("pure
actinic achromatism"). For ordinary photography, however,
there is this disadvantage: the image on the focussing-screen
and the correct adjustment of the photographic sensitive plate
are not in register; in astronomical photography this difference
is constant, but in other kinds it depends on the distance of the
objects. On this account the lines D and G' are united for ordi-
nary photographic objectives; the optical as well as the actinic
image is chromatically inferior, but both lie in the same place;
and consequently the best correction lies in F (this is known as
the " actinic correction " or "freedom from chemical focus").

Should there be in two lenses in contact the same focal lengths
for three colours a, b, and c, i.e. fa=fb=fe=f, then the relative
partial dispersion (» c -n &) («„-» t) must be equal for the two
kinds of glass employed. This follows by considering equation
(4) for the two pairs of colours ac and be. Until recently no
glasses were known with a proportional degree of absorption;
but R. Blair (Trans. Edin. Soc, 1791, 3, p. 3), P. Barlow, and
F. S. Archer overcame the difficulty by constructing fluid lenses
between glass walls. Fraunhofer prepared glasses which re-
duced the secondary spectrum; but permanent success was
only assured on the introduction of the Jena glasses by E. Abbe
and O. Schott. In using glasses not having proportional dis-
persion, the deviation of a third colour can be eliminated by two
lenses, if an interval be allowed between them; or by three
lenses in contact, which may not all consist of the old glasses.
In uniting three colours an " achromatism of a higher order "
is derived; there is yet a residual "tertiary spectrum," but it
can always be neglected.

The Gaussian theory is only an approximation; monochro-
matic or spherical aberrations still occur, which will be different
for different colours; and should they be compensated for one
colour, the image of another colour would prove disturbing.
The most important is the chromatic difference of aberration
of the axis point, which is still present to disturb the image,
after par-axial rays of different colours are united by an appro-
priate combination of glasses. If a collective system be corrected
for the axis point for a definite wave-length, then, on account
of the greater dispersion in the negative components — the flint
glasses, — over-correction will arise for the shorter wave-
lengths (this being the error of the negative components), and
under-correction for the longer wave-lengths (the error of crown
glass lenses preponderating in the red). This error was treated
by Jean le Rond d'Alembert, and, in special detail, by C. F.
Gauss. It increases rapidly with the aperture, and is more
important with medium apertures than the secondary spectrum
of par-axial rays; consequently, spherical aberration must be
eliminated for two colours, and if this be impossible, then it
must be eliminated for those particular wave-lengths which
are most effectual for the instrument in question (a graphical
representation of this error is given in M. von Rohr, Theorie
und Geschichte des photo graphischen Objectivs).

The condition for the reproduction of a surface element in
the place of a sharply reproduced point — the constant of the
sine relation — must also be fulfilled with large apertures for
several colours. E. Abbe succeeded in computing microscope
objectives free from error of the axis point and satisfying the
sine condition for several colours, which therefore, according to
his definition, were " aplanatic for several colours "; such sys-
tems he termed " apochromatic." While, however, the magnifi-
cation of the individual zones is the same, it is not the same for
red as for blue; and there is a chromatic difference of magnifica-
tion. This is produced in the same amount, but in the opposite
sense, by the oculars, which are used with these objectives
(" compensating oculars "), so that it is eliminated in the image
of the whole microscope. The best telescope objectives, and
photographic objectives intended for three-colour work, are also
apochromatic, even if they do not possess quite the same quality
of correction as microscope objectives do. The chromatic
differences of other errors of reproduction have seldom practical
importances.

ABERSYCHAN— ABGAR

Authorities. — The standard treatise in English is H. D. Taylor,
A System of Applied Optics (1906); reference may also be made to
R. S. Heath, A Treatise on Geometrical Optics (2nd ed., 1895); and
L. A. Herman, A Treatise on Geometrical Optics (1900). The ideas
of Abbe were first dealt with in S. Czapski, Theorie der optischen
Instrument nach Abbe, published separately at Breslau in 1893,
and as vol. ii. of Winkelmann's Handbuch der Physik in 1894; a
second edition, by Czapski and O. Eppenstein, was published at
Leipzig in 1903 with the title, Grundziige der Theorie der optischen
Instrument nach Abbe, and in vol. ii. of the 2nd ed. of Winkelmann's
Handbuch der Physik. The collection of the scientific staff of Carl
Zeiss at Jena, edited by M. von Rohr, Die Bilderzeugung in optischen
Inslrumenten vom Standpunkte der geometrischen Ophk (Berlin, 1904),
contains articles by A. Konig and M. von Rohr specially dealing with
aberrations. (O. E.)

ABERSYCHAN, an urban district in the northern parlia-
mentary division of Monmouthshire, England, n m. N. by W.
of Newport, on the Great Western, London and North- Western,
and Rhymney railways. Pop. (1901) 17,768. It lies in the
narrow upper valley of the Afon Lwyd on the eastern edge of
the great coal and iron mining district of Glamorganshire and
Monmouthshire, and its large industrial population is occupied
in the mines and ironworks. The neighbourhood is wild and
mountainous.

ABERTILLERY, an urban district in the western parlia-
mentary division of Monmouthshire, England, 16 m. N.W. of
Newport, on the Great Western railway. Pop. (1891) 10,846;
(1901) 21,945. It lies 'in the mountainous mining district of
Monmouthshire and Glamorganshire, in the valley of the Ebbw
Fach, and the large industrial population is mainly employed
in the numerous coal-mines, ironworks and tinplate works.
Farther up the valley are the mining townships of Nantyglo
and Blaina, forming an urban district with a population (1901)

of 13,489-

ABERYSTWYTH, a municipal borough, market-town and
seaport of Cardiganshire, Wales, near the confluence of the
rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol, about the middle of Cardigan Bay.
Pop. (1901) 8013. It is the terminal station of the Cambrian
railway, and also of the Manchester and Milford line. It is the
most popular watering-place on the west coast of Wales, and
possesses a pier, and a fine sea-front which stretches from Consti-
tution Hill at the north end of the Marine Terrace to the mouth
of the harbour. The town is of modern appearance, and con-
tains many, public buildings, of which the most remarkable is
the imposing but fantastic structure of the University College
of Wales near the Castle Hill. Much of the finest scenery in
mid- Wales lies within easy reach of Aberystwyth.

The history of Aberystwyth may be said to date from the
time of Gilbert Strongbow, who in 1109 erected a fortress on
the present Castle Hill. Edward I. rebuilt Strongbow's castle
in 1277, after its destruction by the Welsh. Between the years
1404 and 1408 Aberystwyth Castle was in thehandsof Owen Glen-
dower, but finally surrendered to Prince Harry of Monmouth, and
shortly after this the town was incorporated under the title of
Ville de Lampadarn, the ancient name of the place being Llan-
badarn Gaerog, or the fortified Llanbadarn, to distinguish it
from Llanbadarn Fawr, the village one mile inland. It is thus
styled in a charter granted by Henry VIII., but by Elizabeth's
time the town was invariably termed Aberystwyth in all docu-
ments. In 1647 the parliamentarian troops razed the castle to
the ground, so that its remains are now inconsiderable, though
portions of three towers still exist. Aberystwyth was a contri-
butory parliamentary borough until 1885, when its representation
was merged in that of the county. In modern times Aberyst-
wyth has become a Welsh educational centre, owing to the
erection here of one of the three colleges of the university of
Wales (1872), and of a hostel for women in connexion with it.
In 1905 it was decided to fix here the site of the proposed Welsh
National Library.

ABETTOR (from " to abet," O. Fr. abeter, a and beter, to bait,
urge dogs upon any one ; this word is probably of Scandi-
navian origin, meaning to cause to hite), a law term implying
one who instigates, encourages or assists another to commit an
offence. An abettor differs from an accessory (q.v.) in that he
must be present at the commission of the crime; all abettors

(with certain exceptions) are principals, and, in the absence
of specific statutory provision to the contrary, are punishable
to the same extent as the actual perpetrator of the offence. A
person may in certain cases be convicted as an abettor in the
commission of an offence in which he or she could not be a
principal, e.g. a woman or boy under fourteen years of age in
aiding rape, or a solvent person in aiding and abetting a bankrupt
to commit offences against the bankruptcy laws.

ABEYANCE (O. Fr. abeance, " gaping"), a state of expectancy
in respect of property, titles or office, when the right to them
is not vested in any one person, but awaits the appearance or
determination of the true owner. In law, the term abeyance
can only be applied to such future estates as have not yet vested
or possibly may not vest. For example, an estate is granted
to A for life, with remainder to the heir of B, the latter being
alive; the remainder is then said to be in abeyance, for until
the death of B it is uncertain who his heir is. Similarly the
freehold of a benefice, on the death of the incumbent, is said
to be in abeyance until the next incumbent takes possession.
The most common use of the term is in the case of peerage
dignities. If a peerage which passes to heirs-general, like the
ancient baronies by writ, is held by a man whose heir-at-law
is neither a male, nor a woman who is an only child, it goes into
abeyance on his death between two or more sisters or their
heirs, and is held by no one till the abeyance is terminated; if
eventually only one person represents the claims of all the
sisters, he or she can claim the termination of the abeyance as
a matter of right. The crown can also call the peerage out of
abeyance at any moment, on petition, in favour of any one of
the sisters or their heirs between whom it is in abeyance. The
question whether ancient earldoms created in favour of a man
and his " heirs " go into abeyance like baronies by writ has been
raised by the claim to the earldom of Norfolk created in 1312,
discussed before the Committee for Privileges in 1906. It is
common, but incorrect, to speak of peerage dignities which are
dormant (i.e. unclaimed) as being in abeyance. (J. H. R.)

ABGAR, a name or title borne by a line of kings or toparchs,
apparently twenty-nine in number, who reigned in Osrhoene
and had their capital at Edessa about the time of the Christian
era. According to an old tradition, one of these princes, perhaps
Abgar V. (Ukkama or Uchomo, " the black "), being afflicted
with leprosy, sent a letter to Jesus, acknowledging his divinity,
craving his help and offering him an asylum in his own residence,
but Jesus wrote a letter declining to go, promising, however,
that after his ascension he would send one of his disciples. These
letters are given by Eusebius (Eccl. Hist. i. 13), who declares
that the Syriac document from which he translates them had
been preserved in the archives at Edessa from the time of Abgar.
Eusebius also states that in due course Judas, son of Thaddaeus,
was sent (in 340 = a.d. 29). In another form of the story, de-
rived from Moses of Chorene, it is said further that Jesus sent
his portrait to Abgar, and that this existed in Edessa (Hist.
Armen., ed. W. Whiston, ii. 29-32). Yet another version is
found in the Syriac Doctrina Addaei (Addaeus = Thaddaeus),
edited by G. Phillips (1876). Here it is said that the reply of
Jesus was given not in writing, but verbally, and that the event
took place in 343 (a.d. 32). Greek forms of the legend are
found in the Acta Thaddaei (C. Tischendorf, Acta apostolorum
apocr. 261 ff.).

These stories have given rise to much discussion. The testi-
mony of Augustine and Jerome is to the effect that Jesus wrote
nothing. The correspondence was rejected as apocryphal by
Pope Gelasius and a Roman Synod (c. 495), though, it is true,
this view has not been shared universally by the Roman church
(Tillemont, Mimoires, i. 3, pp. 990 ff.). Amongst Evangelicals
the spuriousness of the letters is almost generally admitted.
Lipsius (Die Edessenische Abgarsage, 1880) has pointed out
anachronisms which seem to indicate that the story is quite
unhistorical. The first king of Edessa of whom we have any
trustworthy information is Abgar VIII., bar Ma'nu (a.d. 176-
213). It is suggested that the legend arose from a desire to
trace the christianizing of his kingdom to an apostolic source.

ABHIDHAMMA— ABILA

Eusebius gives the legend in its oldest form; it was worked up
in the Doctrim Addaei in the second half of the 4th century;
and Moses of Chorene was dependent upon both these sources.

Bibliography. — R. Schmidt in Herzog-Hauck, Realencyklopddie;
Lipsius, Die Edessenische Abgarsage kritisch untersucht (1880) ;
Matthes, Die Edessenische Abgarsage auf ihre Fortbildung untersucht
(1882); Tixeront, Les Origines de I'eglise d'Edesse el la legende d'A.
(1888) ; A. Harnack, Geschichte d. altchristlichen Litteratur, i. 2 (1893) ;
L. Duchesne, Bulletin critique, 1889, pp. 41-48; for the Epistles
see Apocryphal Literature, sect. New Testament " (c).

ABHIDHAMMA, the name of one of the three Pitakas, or
baskets of tradition, into which the Buddhist scriptures (see
Buddhism) are divided. It consists of seven works: 1. Dhamma
Sanganl (enumeration of qualities). 2. Vibhanga (exposition).
3. Katha Valthu (bases of opinion). 4. Puggala Paiiiiatti (on
individuals). 5. Dhalu Katha (on relations of moral disposi-
tions). 6. Yamaka (the pairs, that is, of ethical states). 7°
Pallhana (evolution of ethical states). These have now been
published by the Pali Text Society. The first has been trans-
lated into English, and an abstract of the third has been pub-
lished. The approximate date of these works is probably from
about 400 B.C. to about 250 B.C., the first being the oldest and
the third the latest of the seven. Before the publication of
the texts, when they were known only by hearsay, the term
Abhidhamma was usually rendered "Metaphysics." This is now
seen to be quite erroneous. Dhamma means the doctrine, and
Abhidhamma has a relation to Dhamma similar to that of by-
law to law. It expands, classifies, tabulates, draws corollaries
from the ethical doctrines laid down in the more popular treat-
ises. There is no metaphysics in it at all, only psychological
ethics of a peculiarly dry and scholastic kind. And there is no
originality in it; only endless permutations and combinations
of doctrines already known and accepted. As in the course of
centuries the doctrine itself, in certain schools, varied, it was felt
necessary to rewrite these secondary works. This was first done,
so far as is at present known, by the Sarvastivadins (Realists),
who in the century before and after Christ produced a fresh
set of seven Abhidhamma books. These are lost in India, but
still exist in Chinese translations. The translations have been
analysed in a masterly way by Professor Takakusu in the article
mentioned below. They deal only with psychological ethics.
In the course of further centuries these books in turn were
superseded by new treatises; and in one school at least, that of
the Maha-yana (great vehicle) there was eventually developed
a system of metaphysics. But the word Abhidhamma then fell
out of use in that school, though it is still used in the schools
that continue to follow the original seven books.

See Buddhist Psychology by Caroline Rhys Davids (London, 1900),
a translation of the Dhamma Sangant, with valuable introduction;
"Schools of Buddhist Belief," by T. W. Rhys Davids, in Journal
of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1892, contains an abstract of the Katha
Valthu; "On the Abhidhamma books of the Sarvastivadins," by
Prof. Takakusu, in Journal of the Pali Text Society, 1905.

(T. W. R. D.)

ABHORRERS, the name given in 1679 to the persons who
expressed their abhorrence at the action of those who had signed
petitions urging King Charles II. to assemble parliament. Feel-
ing against Roman Catholics, and especially against James,
duke of York, was running strongly; the Exclusion Bill had
been passed by the House of Commons, and the popularity of
James, duke of Monmouth, was very great. To prevent this
bill from passing into law, Charles had dissolved parliament in
July 1679, and in the following October had prorogued its suc-
cessor without allowing it to meet. He was then deluged with
petitions urging him to call it together, and this agitation was
opposed by Sir George Jeffreys (q.v.) and Francis Wythens, who
presented addresses expressing "abhorrence" of the "Peti-
tioners," and thus initiated the movement of the abhorrers, who
supported the action of the king. "The frolic went all over
England," says Roger North; and the addresses of the Ab-
horrers which reached the king from all parts of the country
formed a counterblast to those of the Petitioners. It is said
that the terms Whig and. Tory were first applied to English poli-
tical parties in consequence of this dispute.

ABIATHAR (Heb. Ebydthar, "the [divine] father is pre-
eminent"), in the Bible, son of Ahimelech or Ahijah, priest at
Nob. The only one of the priests to escape from Saul's massacre,
he fled to David at Keilah, taking with him the ephod (1 Sam.
xxii. 20 f., xxiii. 6, 9). He was of great service to David, especi-
ally at the time of the rebellion of Absalom (2 Sam. xv. 24, 29,
35, xx. 25). In 1 Kings iv. 4 Zadok and Abiathar are found
acting together as priests under Solomon. In 1 Kings i. 7, 19,
25, however, Abiathar appears as a supporter of Adonijah, and
in ii. 22 and 26 it is said that he was deposed by Solomon and
banished to Anathoth. In 2 Sam. viii. 17 "Abiathar, the son
of Ahimelech" should be read, with the Syriac, for "Ahimelech,
the son of Abiathar." For a similar confusion see Mark ii. 26.

ABICH, OTTO WILHELM HERMANN VON (1 806-1 886),
German mineralogist and geologist, was born at Berlin on the
nth of December 1806, and educated at the university in that
city. His earliest scientific work related to spinels and other
minerals, and later he made special studies of fumaroles, of the
mineral deposits around volcanic vents and of the structure of
volcanoes. In 1842 he was appointed professor of mineralogy
in the university of Dorpat, and henceforth gave attention to
the geology and mineralogy of Russia. Residing for some time
at Tiflis he investigated the geology of the Caucasus.' Ultimately
he retired to Vienna, where he died on the 1st of July 1886. The
mineral Abichite was named after him.

Publications. — Vues illuslralives de quelques phenomenes geolo-
giques, prises sur le VSsuve el VElna, pendant les annees 1833 el
1834 (Berlin, 1836); Ueber die Natur und den Zusammenhang der
vulcanischen Bildungen (Brunswick, 1841); Ceologische Forschungen
in den Kaukasischen Landern (3 vols., Vienna, 1878, 1882, and 1887).

ABIGAIL (Heb. Abigayil, perhaps "father is joy"), or Abigal
(2 Sam. iii. 3), in the Bible, the wife of Nabal the Carmelite,
on whose death she became the wife of David (1 Sam. xxv.).
By her David had a son, whose name appears in the Hebrew of
2 Sam. iii. 3 as Chileab, in the Septuagint as Daluyah, and in
1 Chron. iii. 1 as Daniel. The name Abigail was also borne by
a sister of David (2 Sam. xvii. 25; 1 Chron. ii. 16 f.). From the
former (self-styled "handmaid" 1 Sam. xxv. 25 f.) is derived
the colloquial use of the term for a waiting-woman (cf. Abigail,
the "waiting gentlewoman," in Beaumont and Fletcher's
Scornful Lady).

ABU AH (Heb. Abiyyah and Abiyyahu, "Yah is father"), a
name borne by nine different persons mentioned in the Old
Testament, of whom the most noteworthy are the following.

(1) The son and successor of Rehoboam, king of Judah (2 Chron.
xii. 16-xiii.), reigned about two years (918-915 B.C.). The ac-
counts of him in the books of Kings and Chronicles are very con-
flicting (compare 1 Kings xv. 2 and 2 Chron. xi.20 with 2 Chron.
xiii.2). The Chronicler tells us that he has drawn his facts from
the Midrash (commentary) of the prophet Iddo. This is perhaps
sufficient to explain the character of the narrative. (2) The
second son of Samuel (1 Sam. viii. 2; 1 Chron. vi. 28 [13]). He
and his brother Joel judged at Beersheba. Their misconduct
was made by the elders of Israel a pretext for demanding a king
(1 Sam. viii. 4). (3) A son of Jeroboam I., king of Israel; he
died young (1 Kings xiv. 1 ff.,17). (4) Head of the eighth order
of priests (1 Chron. xxiv. 10), the order to which Zacharias, the
father of John the Baptist, belonged (Luke i. 5).

The alternative form Abijam is probably a mistake, though
it is upheld by M. Jastrow.

ABILA, (1) a city of ancient Syria, the capital of the tetrarchy
of Abilene, a territory whose extent it is impossible to define.
It is generally called Abila of Lysanias, to distinguish it from

(2) below. Abila was an important town on the imperial high-
way from Damascus to Heliopolis (Baalbek). The site is indi-
cated by ruins of a temple, aqueducts, &c, and inscriptions on
the banks of the river Barada at Suk Wadi Barada, a village
called by early Arab geographers Abil-es-Suk, between Baalbek
and Damascus. Though the names Abel and Abila differ in
derivation and in meaning, their similarity has given rise to the
tradition that this was the place of Abel's burial. According to
Josephus, Abilene was a separate Iturean kingdom till a.d. 37,
when it was granted by Caligula to Agrippa I.; in 52 Claudius

ABILDGAARD— ABINGER

granted it to Agrippa II. (See also Lysanias.) (2) A city in
Perea, now Abil-ez-Zeit.

ABILDGAARD, NIKOLAJ ABRAHAM (1744-1809), caUed
" the Father of Danish Painting," was born at Copenhagen, the
son of Soren Abildgaard, an antiquarian draughtsman of repute.
He formed his style on that of Claude and of Nicolas Poussin,
and was a cold theorist, inspired not by nature but by art. As
a technical painter he attained remarkable success, his tone being
very harmonious and even, but the effect, to a foreigner's eye, is
rarely interesting. His works are scarcely known out of Copen-
hagen, where he won an immense fame in his own generation.
He was the founder of the Danish school of painting, and the
master of Thorwaldsen and Eckersberg.

AB1MELECH (Hebrew for "father of [or is] the king ")• (1)
A king of Gerar in South Palestine with whom Isaac, in the Bible,
had relations. The patriarch, during his sojourn there, alleged
that his wife Rebekah was his sister, but the king doubting this
remonstrated with him and pointed out how easily adultery
might have been unintentionally committed (Gen. xxvi.).
Abimelech is called " king of the Philistines," but the title is
clearly an anachronism. A very similar story is told of Abraham
and Sarah (ch. xx.), but here Abimelech takes Sarah to wife,
although he is warned by a divine vision before the crime is
actually committed. The incident is fuller and shows a great
advance in ideas of morality. Of a more primitive character,
however, is another parallel story of Abraham at the court of
Pharaoh, king of Egypt (xii. 10-20), where Sarah his wife is taken
into the royal household, and the plagues sent by Yahweh lead
to the discovery of the truth. Further incidents in Isaac's life
at Gerar are narrated in Gen. xxvi. (cp. xxi. 22-34, time of
Abraham), notably a covenant with Abimelech. at Beer-sheba
(whence the name is explained "well of the oath"); (see
Abraham). By a pure error, or perhaps through a confusion
in the traditions, Achish the Philistine (of Gath, 1 Sam. xxi.,
xxvii.), to whom David fled, is called Abimelech in the super-
scription to Psalm xxxiv.

(2) A son of Jerubbaal or Gideon (q.v.), by his Shechemite
concubine (Judges viii. 31, ix.). On the death of Gideon,
Abimelech set himself to assert the authority which his father
had earned, and through the influence of his mother's clan won
over the citizens of Shechem. Furnished with money from the
treasury of the temple of Baal-berith, he hired a band of followers
and slew seventy (cp. 2 Kings x. 7) of his brethren at Ophrah, his
father's home. This is one of the earliest recorded instances of
a practice common enough on the accession of Oriental despots.
Abimelech thus became king, and extended his authority over
central Palestine. But his success was short-lived, and the sub-
sequent discord between Abimelech and the Shechemites was
regarded as a just reward for his atrocious massacre. Jotham,
the only one who is said to have escaped, boldly appeared on
Mount Gerizim and denounced the ingratitude of the townsmen
towards the legitimate sons of the man who had saved them
from Midian. " Jotham's fable " of the trees who desired a king
may be foreign to the context; it is a piece of popular lore, and
cannot be pressed too far: the nobler trees have no wish to rule
over others, only the bramble is self-confident. The " fable "
appears to be antagonistic to ideas of monarchy. The origin
of the conflicts which subsequently arose is not clear. Gaal, a
new-comer, took the opportun'ty at the time of the vintage,
when there was a festival in ths temple, to head a revolt and
seized Shechem. Abimelech, warned by his deputy Zcbul, left
his residence at Arumah and approached the city. In a fine bit
of realism we are told how Gaal observed the approaching foe
and was told by Zebul, " You see the shadow of the hills as men,"
and as they drew nearer Zebul's ironical remark became a taunt,
" Where is now thy mouth ? is not this the people thou didst
despise? go now and fight them!" This revolt, which Abime-
lech successfully quelled, appears to be only an isolated episode.
Another account tells of marauding bands of Shechemites
which disturbed the district. The king disposed his men (the
whole chapter is specially interesting for the full details it gives
of the nature of ancient military operations), and after totally

destroying Shechem, proceeded against Thebez, which had also
revolted. Here, while storming the citadel, he was struck on
the head by a fragment of a millstone thrown from the wall by
a woman. To avoid the disgrace of perishing by a woman's
hand, he begged his armour-bearer to run him through the body,
but his memory was not saved from the ignominy he dreaded
(2 Sam. xi. 21). It is usual to regard Abimelech's reign as the
first attempt to establish a monarchy in Israel, but the story is
mainly that of the rivalries of a half-developed petty state, and
of the ingratitude of a community towards the descendants of
its deliverer. (See, further, Jews, Judges.) (S. A. C.)

ABINGDON, a market town and municipal borough in the
Abingdon parliamentary division of Berkshire, England, 6 m. S.
of Oxford, the terminus of a branch of the Great Western railway
from Radley. Pop. (1901) 6480. It lies in the fiat valley of
the Thames, on the west (right) bank, where the small river
Ock flows in from the Vale of White Horse. The church of
St Helen stands near the river, and its fine Early English tower
with Perpendicular spire is the principal object in the pleasant
views of the town from the river. The body of the church, which
has five aisles, is principally Perpendicular. The smaller church
of St Nicholas is Perpendicular in appearance, though parts of
the fabric are older. Of a Benedictine abbey there remain a
beautiful Perpendicular gateway, and ruins of buildings called
the prior's house, mainly Early English, and the guest house,
with other fragments. The picturesque narrow-arched bridge
over the Thames near St Helen's church dates originally from
1416. There may be mentioned further the old buildings of the
grammar school, founded in 1563, and of the charity called
Christ's Hospital (1583); while the town-hall in the market-
place, dating from 1677, is attributed to Inigo Jones. The
grammar school now occupies modern buildings, and ranks
among the lesser public schools of England, having scholarships
at Pembroke College, Oxford. St Peter's College, Radley, 2 m.
from Abingdon, is one of the principal modern public schools.
It was opened in 1847. The buildings lie close to the Thames,
and the school is famous for rowing, sending an eight to the
regatta at Henley each year. Abingdon has manufactures of
clothing and carpets and a large agricultural trade. The borough
is under a mayor, four aldermen and twelve councillors. Area,
730 acres.

Abingdon (Abbedun, Abendun) was famous for its abbey, which
was of great wealth and importance, and is believed to have been
founded in a.d. 675 by Cissa, one of the subreguliol Centwin. Abun-
dant charters from early Saxon monarchs are extant confirming
various laws and privileges to the abbey, and the earliest of these,
from King Ceadwalla, was granted before a.d. 688. In the reign of
Alfred the abbey was destroyed by the Danes, but it was restored
by Edred, and an imposing list of possessions in the Domesday
survey evidences recovered prosperity. William the Conqueror
in 1084 celebrated Easter at Abingdon, and left his son, afterwards
Henry I., to be educated at the abbey. After the dissolution in
1538 the town sank into decay, and in 1555, on a representation of
its pitiable condition, Queen Mary granted a charter establishing
it as a free borough corporate with a common council consisting
of a mayor, two bailiffs, twelve chief burgesses, and sixteen second-
ary burgesses, the mayor to be clerk of the market, coroner and a
justice of the peace. The council was empowered to elect one
burgess to parliament, and this right continued until the Redistri-
bution of Seats Act of 1885. A town clerk and other officers were
also appointed, and the town boundaries described in great detail.
Later charters from Elizabeth, James I., James II., George II. and
George III. made no considerable change. James II. changed the
style of the corporation to that of a mayor, twelve aldermen and
twelve burgesses. The abbot seems to have held a market from
very early times, and charters for the holding of markets and fairs
were granted by various sovereigns from Edward I. to George II.
In the 13th and 14th centuries Abingdon was a flourishing agri-
cultural centre with an extensive trade in wool, and a famous weav-
ing and clothing manufacture. The latter industry declined before
the reign of Queen Mary, but has since been revived.

The present Christ's Hospital originally belonged to the Gild
of the Holy Cross, on the dissolution of which Edward VI. founded
the hospital under its present name.

See Victoria County History, Berkshire; Joseph Stevenson,
Chronicon Monasterii de Abingdon, a.d. 201-1189 (Rolls Series,
2 vols., London, 1858).

ABINGER, JAMES SCARLETT, ist Baron (1 760-1844),

6 4

ABINGTON— ABIOGENESIS

English judge, was born on the 13th of December 1769 in
Jamaica, where his father, Robert Scarlett, had property. In
the summer of 1785 he was sent to England to complete his
education, and went to Trinity College, Cambridge, taking his
B.A. degree in 1789. Having entered the Inner Temple he was
called to the bar in 1791, and joined the northern circuit and the
Lancashire sessions. Though he had no professional connexions,
by steady application he gradually obtained a large practice,
ultimately confining himself to the Court of King's Bench and
the northern circuit. He took silk in 1816, and from this time
till the close of 1834 he was the most successful lawyer at the
bar; he was particularly effective before a jury, and his income
reached the high-water mark of £18,500, a large sum for that
period. He began life as a Whig, and first entered parliament
in 1819 as member for Peterborough, representing that constitu-
ency with a short break (1822-1823) till 1830, when he was elected
for the borough of Malton. He became attorney-general, and
was knighted when Canning formed his ministry in 1827; and
though he resigned when the duke of Wellington came into power
in 1828, he resumed office in 1829 and went out with the duke of
Wellington in 1830. His opposition to the Reform Bill caused
his severance from the Whig leaders, and having joined the Tories
he was elected, first for Colchester and then in 1832 for Norwich,
for which borough he sat until the dissolution of parliament. He
was appointed lord chief baron of the exchequer in 1834, and
presided in that court for more than nine years. While attending
the Norfolk circuit on the 2nd of April he was suddenly seized
with apoplexy, and died in his lodgings at Bury on the 7th of
April 1844. He had been raised to the peerage as Baron Abinger
in 1835, taking his title from the Surrey estate he had bought in
1813. The qualities which brought him success at the bar were
not equally in place on the bench; he was partial, dictatorial
and vain; and complaint was made of his domineering attitude
towards juries. But his acuteness of mind and clearness of ex-
pression remained to the end. Lord Abinger was twice married
(the second time only six months before his death), and by his
first wife (d. 1829) had three sons and two daughters, the title
passing to his eldest son Robert (1794-1861). His second son,
General Sir James Yorke Scarlett (1799-1871), leader of the
heavy cavalry charge at Balaclava, is dealt with in a separate
article; and his elder daughter, Mary, married John, Baron
Campbell, and was herself created Baroness Stratheden (Lady
Stratheden and Campbell) (d. i860). Sir Philip Anglin Scarlett
(d. 1831), Lord Abinger's younger brother, was chief justice of
Jamaica.

See P. C. Scarlett, Memoir of James, 1st Lord Abinger (1877);
Foss's Lives of the Judges; E. Manson, Builders of our Law (1904).

ABINGTON, FRANCES (1737-1815), English actress, was the
daughter of a private soldier named Barton, and was, at first, a
flower girl and a street singer. She then became servant to a
French milliner, obtaining a taste in dress and a knowledge of
French which afterwards stood her in good stead. Her first
appearance on the stage was at the Haymarket in 1755 as
Miranda in Mrs Centlivre's Busybody. In 1756, on the recom-
mendation of Samuel Foote, she became a member of the Drury
Lane company, where she was overshadowed by Mrs Pritchard
and Kitty Clive. In 1759, after an unhappy marriage with her
music-master, one of the royal trumpeters, she is mentioned in
the bills as Mrs Abington. Her first success was in Ireland as
Lady Townley, and it was only after five years, on the pressing
invitation of Garrick, that she returned to Drury Lane. There
she remained for eighteen years, being the original of more than
thirty important characters, notably Lady Teazle (1777). Her
Beatrice, Portia, Desdemona and Ophelia were no less liked
than her Miss Hoyden, Biddy Tipkin, Lucy Lockit and Miss Prue.
It was in the last character in Love for Love that Reynolds
painted his best portrait of her. In 1782 she left Drury Lane for
Co vent Garden. After an absence from the stage from 1790
until 1797, she reappeared, quitting it finally in 1799. Her am-
bition, personal wit and cleverness won her a distinguished
position in society, in spite of her humble origin. Women of
fashion copied her frocks, and a head-dress she wore was widely

adopted and known as the " Abington cap." She died on the
4th of March 1815.

ABIOGENESIS, in biology, the term, equivalent to the older
terms " spontaneous generation," Generatio aequivoca, Generatio
primaria, and of more recent terms such as archegenesis and
archebiosis, for the theory according to which fully formed living
organisms sometimes arise from not-living matter. Aristotle
explicitly taught abiogenesis, and laid it down as an observed
fact that some animals spring from putrid matter, that plant-
lice arise from the dew which falls on plants, that fleas are
developed from putrid matter, and so forth. T. J. Parker
{Elementary Biology) cites a passage from Alexander Ross, who,
commenting on Sir Thomas Browne's doubt as to " whether mice
may be bred by putrefaction," gives a clear statement of the
common opinion on abiogenesis held until about two centuries
ago. Ross wrote: " So may he (Sir Thomas Browne) doubt
whether in cheese and timber worms are generated; or if beetles
and wasps in cows' dung; or if butterflies, locusts, grasshoppers,
shell-fish, snails, eels, and such like, be procreated of putrefied
matter, which is apt to receive the form of that creature to which
it is by formative power disposed. To question this is to question
reason, sense and experience. If he doubts of this let him go
to Egypt, and there he will find the fields swarming with mice,
begot of the mud of Nylus, to the great calamity of the in-
habitants."

The first step in the scientific refutation of the theory of abio-
genesis was taken by the Italian Redi, who, in 1668, proved
that no maggots were " bred " in meat on which flies were pre-
vented by wire screens from laying their eggs. From the 17 th
century onwards it was gradually shown that, at least in the case
of all the higher and readily visible organisms, abiogenesis did
not occur, but that omne vivum e vivo, every living thing came
from a pre-existing living thing.

The discovery of the microscope carried the refutation further.
In 1683 A. van Leeuwenhoek discovered bacteria, and it was
soon found that however carefully organic matter rriight be
protected by screens, or by being placed in stoppered receptacles,
putrefaction set in, and was invariably accompanied by the
appearance of myriads of bacteria and other low organisms. As
knowledge of microscopic forms of life increased, so the apparent
possibilities of abiogenesis increased, and it became a tempting
hypothesis that whilst the higher forms of life arose only by
generation from their kind, there was a perpetual abiogenetic
fount by which the first steps in the evolution of living organisms
continued to arise, under suitable conditions, from inorganic
matter. It was due chiefly to L. Pasteur that the occurrence
of abiogenesis in the microscopic world was disproved as much
as its occurrence in the macroscopic world. If organic matter
were first sterilized and then prevented from , contamination
from without, putrefaction did not occur, and the matter re-
mained free from microbes. The nature of sterilization, and the
difficulties in securing it, as well as the extreme delicacy of the
manipulations necessary, made it possible for a very long time
to be doubtful as to the application of the phrase omne vivum e
vivo to the microscopic world, and there still remain a few
belated supporters of abiogenesis. Subjection to the tempera-
ture of boiling water for, say, half an hour seemed an efficient
mode of sterilization, until it was discovered that the spores of
bacteria are so involved in heat-resisting membranes, that only
prolonged exposure to dry, baking heat can be recognized as
an efficient process of sterilization. Moreover, the presence of
bacteria, or their spores, is so universal that only extreme pre-
cautions guard against a re-infection of the sterilized material.
It may now be stated definitely that all known living organisms
arise only from pre-existing living organisms.

So far the theory of abiogenesis may be taken as disproved.
It must be noted, however, that this disproof relates only to
known existing organisms. All these are composed of a definite
substance, known as protoplasm (q.v.), and the modern refutation
of abiogenesis applies only to the organic forms in which proto-
plasm now exists. It may be that in the progress of science it
may yet become possible to construct living protoplasm from

ABIPONES— ABLUTION

non-living material. The refutation of abiogenesis has no further
bearing on this possibility than to make it probable that if
protoplasm ultimately be formed in the laboratory, it will be by
a series of stages, the earlier steps being the formation of some
substance, or substances, now unknown, which are not proto-
plasm. Such intermediate stages may have existed in the past,
and the modern refutation of abiogenesis has no application to
the possibility of these having been formed from inorganic
matter at some past time. Perhaps the words archebiosis, or
archegenesis, should be reserved for the theory that protoplasm
in the remote past has been developed from not-living matter
by a series of steps, and many of those, notably T. H. Huxley,
who took a large share in the process of refuting contemporary
abiogenesis, have stated their belief in a primordial archebiosis.
(See Biogenesis and Life.) (P. C. M.)

ABIPONES, a tribe of South American Indians of Guaycuran
stock recently inhabiting the territory lying between Santa Fe
and St Iago. They originally occupied the Chaco district of
Paraguay,but were driven thence by the hostility of the Spaniards.
According to Martin Dobrizhoffer, a Jesuit missionary, who,
towards the end of the 18th century, lived among them for a
period of seven years, they then numbered not more than 5000.
They were a well-formed, handsome people, with black eyes and
aquiline noses, thick black hair, but no beards. The hair from
the forehead to the crown of the head was pulled out, this con-
stituting a tribal mark. The faces, breasts and arms of the
women were covered with black figures of various designs made
with thorns, the tattooing paint being a mixture of ashes and
blood. The lips and ears of both sexes were pierced. The men
were brave fighters, their chief weapons being the bow and spear.
No child was without bow and arrows; the bow-strings were
made of foxes' entrails. In battle the Abipones wore an armour
of tapir's hide over which a jaguar's skin was sewn. They were
excellent swimmers and good horsemen. For five months in the
year when the floods were out they lived on islands or even in
shelters built in the trees. They seldom married before the age
of thirty, and were singularly chaste. " With the Abipones,"
says Darwin, " when a man chooses a wife, he bargains with the
parents about the price. But it frequently happens that the
girl rescinds what has been agreed upon between the parents
and bridegroom, obstinately rejecting the very mention of
marriage. She often runs away and hides herself, and thus
eludes the bridegroom." Infanticide was systematic, never
more than two children being reared in one family, a custom
doubtless originating in the difficulty of subsistence. The young
were suckled for two years. The Abipones are now believed to
be extinct as a tribe.

Martin Dobrizhoffer's Latin Historia de Abiponibus (Vienna, 1784)
was translated into English by Sara Coleridge, at the suggestion of
Southey, in 1822, under the title of An Account of the Abipones
(3 vols.).

ABITIBBI, a lake and river of Ontario, Canada. The lake, in
49 N., 8o° W., is 60 m. long and studded with islands. It is
shallow, and the shores in its vicinity are covered with small
timber. It was formerly employed by the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany as part of a canoe route to the fur lands of the north. The
construction of the Grand Trunk Pacific railway through this
district has made it of some importance. Its outlet is Abitibbi
river, a rapid stream, which after a course of 200 m. joins the
Moose river, flowing into James Bay.

ABJURATION (from Lat. abjurare, to forswear), a solemn
repudiation or renunciation on oath. At common law, it signified
the oath of a person who had taken sanctuary to leave the realm
for ever; this was abolished in the reign of James I. The Oath
of Abjuration, in English history, was a solemn disclaimer, taken
by members of parliament, clergy and laymen against the
right of the Stuarts to the crown, imposed by laws of William III.,
George I. and George III.; but its place has since been taken
by the oath of allegiance.

ABKHASIA, or Abhasia, a tract of Russian Caucasia, govern-
ment of Kutais. The Caucasus mountains on the N. and N.E.
divide it from Circassia; on the S.E. it is,bounded by Mingrelia;

and on the S.W. by the Black Sea. Though the country is
generally mountainous, with dense forests of oak and walnut,
there are some deep, well-watered valleys, and the climate is
mild. The soil is fertile, producing wheat, maize, grapes, figs,
pomegranates and wine. Cattle and horses are bred. Honey
is produced; and excellent arms are made. This country was
subdued (c. 550) by the Emperor Justinian, who introduced
Christianity. Native dynasties ruled from 735 to the 15th
century, when the region was conquered by the Turks and
became Mahommedan. The Russians acquired possession of it
piecemeal between 1829 and 1842, but their power was not
firmly established until after 1864. Area, 2800 sq. m. The
principal town is Sukhum-kaleh. Pop. 43,000, of whom two-
thirds are Mingrelians and one-third Abkhasians, a Cherkess or
Circassian race. The total number of Abkhasians in the two
governments of Kutais and Kuban was 72,103 in 1897; large
numbers emigrated to the Turkish empire in 1864 and 1878.

ABLATION (from Lat. ablatus, carried away), the process of
removing anything; a term used technically in geology of the
wearing away of a rock or glacier, and in surgery for operative
removal.

ABLATITIOUS (from Lat. ablatus, taken away), reducing or
withdrawing; in astronomy a force which interferes between
the moon and the earth to lessen the strength of gravitation is
called " ablatitious," just as it is called " addititious " when it
increases that strength.

ABLATIVE (Lat. ablativus, sc. casus, from ablatum, taken
away), in grammar, a case of the noun, the fundamental sense
of which is direction from; in Latin, the principal language in
which the case exists, this has been extended, with or without a
preposition, to the instrument or agent of an act, and the place
or time at, and manner in, which a thing is done. The case is
also found in Sanskrit, Zend, Oscan and Umbrian, and traces
remain in other languages. The " Ablative Absolute," a gram-
matical construction in Latin, consists of a noun in the ablative
case, with a participle, attribute or qualifying word agreeing
with it, not depending on any other part of the sentence, to
express the time, occasion or circumstance of a fact.

ABLUTION (Lat. ablutio, from abluere, " to wash oft "), a
washing, in its religious use, destined to secure that ceremonial
or ritualistic purity which must not be confused with the
physical or hygienic cleanliness of persons and things obtained
by the use of soap and water. 1 Indeed the two states may con-
tradict each other, as in the case of the 4th-century Christian
pilgrim to Jerusalem who boasted that she had not washed
her face for eighteen years for fear of removing therefrom the
holy chrism of baptism. The purport, then, of ablutions is to
remove, not dust and dirt, but the — to us imaginary — stains
contracted by contact with the dead, with childbirth, with
menstruous women, with murder whether wilful or involuntary,
with almost any form of bloodshed, with persons of inferior
caste, with dead animal refuse, e.g. leather or excrement, with
leprosy, madness and any form of disease. Among all races
in a certain grade of development such associations are vaguely
felt to be dangerous and to impair vitality. In a later stage the
taint is regarded as alive, as a demon or evil spirit alighting on
and passing into the things and persons exposed to contamina-
tion. In general, water, cows' urine arid blood of swine are the
materials used in ablutions. Of these water is the commonest,
and its efficacy is enhanced if it be running, and still more if a
magical or sacramental virtue has been imparted to it by ritual
blessing or consecration. Some concrete examples will best
illustrate the nature of such ablutions. In the Atharva-Veda,
vii. 116, we ha/e this allopathic remedy for fever. The patient's
skin burns, that of a frog is cold to the touch; therefore tie to
the foot of the bed a frog, bound with red and black thread,
and wash down the sick man so that the water of ablution falls

1 In its technical ecclesiastical sense the ablution is the ritual
washing of the chalice and of the priest's fingers after the celebration
of Holy Communion in the Catholic Church. The wine and water
used for this purpose are themselves sometimes called "the
ablution."

1-3

ABNAKI— ABO

on the frog. Let the medicine man or magician pray that the
fever may pass into the frog, and the frog be forthwith re-
leased, and the cure will be effected. In the old Athenian
Anthesteria the blood of victims was poured over the unclean.
A bath of bulls' blood was much in vogue as a baptism in the
mysteries of Attis. The water must in ritual washings run off
in order to carry away the miasma or unseen demon of disease;
and accordingly in baptism the early Christians used living or
running water. Nor was it enough that the person baptized
should himself enter the water; the baptizer must pour it over
his head, so that it run down his person. Similarly the Brahman
takes care, after ablution of a person, to wipe the cathartic water
off from head to feet downwards, that the malign influence may
pass out through the feet. The same care is shown in ritual
ablutions in the Bukovina and elsewhere.

Water and fire, spices and sulphur, are used in ritual cleans-
ings, says Iamblichus in his book on mysteries (v. 23), as being
specially full of the divine nature. Nevertheless in all religions,
and especially in the Brahmanic and Christian, the cathartic
virtue of water is enhanced by the introduction into it by means
of suitable prayers and incantations of a divine or magical power.
Ablutions both of persons and things are usually cathartic,
that is, intended to purge away evil influences (Kadaiptiv, to
make nadapbs, pure). But, as Robertson Smith observes, "holi-
ness is contagious, just as uncleanness is "; and common things
and persons may become taboo, that is, so holy as to be dangerous
and useless for daily life through the mere infection of holiness.
Thus in Syria one who touched a dove became taboo for one
whole day, and if a drop of blood of the Hebrew sin-offering fell
on a garment it had to be ritually washed off. It was as neces-
sary in the Hebrew religion for the priest to wash his hands
after handling the sacred volume as before. Christians might not
enter a church to say their prayers without first washing their
hands. So Chrysostom says: "Although our hands may be
already pure, yet unless we have washed them thoroughly, we
do not spread them upwards in prayer." Tertullian (c. 200)
had long before condemned this as a heathen custom; none the
less, it was insisted on in later ages, and is a survival of the pagan
lustrations or Tctpippavrripia. Sozomen (vi. 6) tells how a priest
sprinkled Julian and Valentinian with water according to the
heathen custom as they entered his temple. The same custom
prevails among Mahommedans. Porphyry (de Abst. ii. 44)
relates that one who touched a sacrifice meant to avert divine
anger must bathe and wash his clothes in running water before
returning to his city and home, and similar scruples in regard
to holy objects and persons have been observed among the
natives of Polynesia, New Zealand and ancient Egypt. The
rites, met within all lands, of pouring out water or bathing in
order to produce rain from heaven, differ in their significance
from ablutions with water and belong to the realm of sympa-
thetic magic.

There are certain forms of purification which one does not
know whether to describe as ablutions or anointings. Thus
Demosthenes in his speech " On the crown " accused Aeschines
of having " purified the initiated and wiped them clean with
(not from) mud and pitch." Smearing with gypsum (riravos,
titanos) had a similar purifying effect, and it has been suggested l
that the Titans were no more than old-world votaries who had
so disguised themselves. Perhaps the use of ashes in mourning
had the same origin. In the rite of death-bed penance given in
the old Mozarabic Christian ritual of Spain, ashes were poured
over the sick man.

Authorities. — W. R. Smith, Religion of the Semites • Jul. Well-
hausen, Reste arabischen Heidentums ( = Skizzen und Vorarbeiten,
iii. 2nd ed., Berlin, 1897); John Spencer, De legibus Hebraeorum
ritualibus (Tubingae, 1732); Art. "Clean and Unclean " in Hastings'
Bible Dictionary and in Jewish Encyclopedia, vol. iv. ; J. G. Frazer,
Adonis, Attis, Osiris (London, 1906); Joseph Bingham, Antiquities
of the Christian Church, bk. viii. ; Hermann Oldenberg, Die Religion
des Veda's, Berlin, 1894. (F. C. C.)

ABNAKI (" the whitening sky at daybreak," i.e. Easterners),
a confederacy of North American Indians of Algonquian stock,
1 By J. E. Harrison, Prolegomena to Greek Religion, p. 493.

called Terrateens by the New England tribes and colonial
writers. It included the Passamaquoddy, Penobscot, Norridge-
wock, Malecite and other tribes. It formerly occupied what is
now Maine and southern New Brunswick. All the tribes were
loyal to the French during the early years of the 18th century,
but after the British success in Canada most of them withdrew
to St Francis, Canada, subsequently entering into an agreement
with the British authorities. The Abnaki now number some
1600.

For details see Handbook of American Indians, edited by F. W.
Hodge (Washington, 1907).

ABNER (Hebrew for "father of [or is a] light"), in the Bible,
first cousin of Saul and commander-in-chief of his army (1 Sam.
xiv. 50, xx. 25). He is only referred to incidentally in Saul's
history (1 Sam. xvii. 55, xxvi. 5), and is not mentioned in the
account of the disastrous battle of Gilboa when Saul's power
was crushed. Seizing the only surviving son, Ishbaal, he set
him up as king over Israel at Mahanaim, east of the Jordan.
David, who was accepted as king by Judah alone, was mean-
while reigning at Hebron, and for some time war was carried
on between the two parties. The only engagement between the
rival factions which is told at length is noteworthy, inasmuch
as it was preceded by an encounter at Gibeon between twelve
chosen men from each side, in which the whole twenty-four seem
to have perished (2 Sam. ii. 12). 1 In the general engagement
which followed, Abner was defeated and put to flight. He was
closely pursued by Asahel, brother of Joab, who is said to have
been " light of foot as a wild roe." As Asahel would not desist
from the pursuit, though warned, Abner was compelled to slay
him in self-defence. This originated a deadly feud between
the leaders of the opposite parties, for Joab, 'as next of kin to
Asahel, was by the law and custom of the country the avenger
of his blood. For some time afterwards the war was carried on,
the advantage being invariably on the side of David. At length
Ishbaal lost the main prop of his tottering cause by remonstrat-
ing with Abner for marrying Rizpah, one of Saul's concubines,
an alliance which, according to Oriental notions, implied pre-
tensions to the throne (cp. 2 Sam. xvi. 21 sqq.; 1 Kings ii. 21
sqq.). Abner was indignant at the deserved rebuke, and im-
mediately opened negotiatons with David, who welcomed him
on the condition that his wife Michal should be restored to him.
This was done, and the proceedings were ratified by a feast.
Almost immediately after, however. Joab, who had been sent
away, perhaps intentionally returned and slew Abner at the
gate of Hebron. The ostensible motive for the assassination
was a desire to avenge Asahel, and this would be a sufficient
justification for the deed according to the moral standard of the
time. The conduct of David after the event was such as to show
that he had no complicity in the act, though he could not ven-
ture to punish its perpetrators (2 Sam. iii. 31-39; cp. 1 Kings ii.
31 seq.). (See David.)

ABO (Finnish Turku), a city and seaport, the capital of the
province of Abo-Bjorneborg, in the grand duchy of Finland, on
the Aura-joki, about 3 m. from where it falls into the gulf of
Bothnia. Pop. (1810) 10,224; (1870) 19,617; (1904) 42,639.
It is 381 m. by rail from St Petersburg via Tavastehus, and is
in regular steamer communication with St Petersburg, Vasa,
Stockholm, Copenhagen and Hull. It was already a place of
importance when Finland formed part of the kingdom of Sweden.
When the Estates of Finland seceded from Sweden and accepted
the Emperor Alexander of Russia as their grand duke at the
Diet of Borga in 1809, Abo became the capital of the new state,
and so remained till 1819 when the seat of government was
transferred to Helsingfors. In November 1827 nearly the
whole city was burnt down, the university and its valuable
library being entirely destroyed. Before this calamity Abo
contained mo houses and 13,000 inhabitants; and its university
had 40 professors, more than 500 students, and a library of up-
wards of 30,000 volumes, together with a botanical garden, an

1 The object of the story of the encounter is to explain the name
Helkath-hazzurim, the meaning of which is doubtful (Ency. Bib.
col. 2006; Batten in Zeit.f. alt-test. Wissens. 1906, pp. 90 sqq.).

ABO-BJORNEBORG— ABORTION

observatory and a chemical laboratory. The university has
since been removed to Helsingfors. Abo remains the ecclesias-
tical capital of Finland, is the seat of the Lutheran archbishop
and contains a fine cathedral dating from 1258 and restored
after the fire of 1827. The cathedral is dedicated to St Henry,
the patron saint of Finland, an English missionary who intro-
duced Christianity into the country in the 12th century. Abo
is the seat of the first of the three courts of appeal of Finland.
It has two high schools, a school of commerce and a school of
navigation. The city is second only to Helsingfors for its trade;
sail-cloth, cotton and tobacco are manufactured, and there are
extensive saw-mills. There is also a large trade in timber and
a considerable butter export. Ship-building has considerably
developed, torpedo-boats being built here for the Russian navy.
Vessels drawing 9 or 10 feet come up to the town, but ships of
greater draught are laden and discharged at its harbour (Born-
holm, on Hyrvinsala Island), which is entered yearly by from
700 to 800 ships, of about 200,000 tons.

ABO-BJORNEBORG, a province occupying the S.W. corner of
Finland and including the Aland islands. It has a total area of
24,171 square kilometres and a population (1900) of 447,098,
of whom 379,622 spoke Finnish and 67,260 Swedish; 446,900
were of the Lutheran religion. The province occupies a promi-
nent position in Finland for its manufacture of cottons, sugar
refinery, wooden goods, metals, machinery, paper, &c. Its
chief towns are: Abo (pop. 42,639), Bjomeborg (16,053), Raumo
(5501), Nystad (4165), Mariehamn (1171), Nadendal (917).

ABODE (from " abide," to dwell, properly " to wait for ," to
bide), generally, a dwelling. In English law this term has a more
restricted meaning than domicile, being used to indicate the
place of a man's residence or business, whether that be either
temporary or permanent. The law may regard for certain
purposes, as a man's abode, the place where he carries on busi-
ness, though he may reside elsewhere ; so that the term has
come to have a looser significance than residence, which has been
defined as "where a man lives with his family and sleeps at
night" {R. v. Hammond, 1852, 17 Q.B. 772). In serving a
notice of action, a solicitor's place of business may be given as
his abode {Roberts v. Williams, 1835, 5 L.J.M.C. 23), and in more
recent decisions it has been similarly held that where a notice
was required to be served under the Public Health Act 1875,
either personally or to some inmate of the owner's or occupier's
" place of abode, " a place of business was sufficient.

ABOMASUM {caillette), the fourth or rennet stomach of
Ruminantia. From the omasum the food is finally deposited
in the abomasum, a cavity considerably larger than either the
second or third stomach, although less than the first. The base
of the abomasum is turned to the omasum. It is of an irregular
conical form. It is that part of the digestive apparatus which
is analogous to the single stomach of other Mammalia, as the
food there undergoes the process of cbymification, after being
macerated and ground down in the three first stomachs.

ABOMEY, capital of the ancient kingdom of Dahomey, West
Africa, now included in the French colony of the same name.
It is 70 m. N. by rail of the seaport of Kotonu, and has a popula-
tion of about 1 5,000. Abomey is built on a rolling plain, 800 ft.
above sea-level, terminating in short bluffs to the N.W., where it
is bounded by a long depression. The town was surrounded by a
mud wall, pierced by six gates, and was further protected by a
ditch 5 ft. deep, filled with a dense growth of prickly acacia,
the usual defence of West African strongholds. Within the
walls, which had a circumference of six miles, were villages
separated by fields, several royal palaces,' a market-place and
a large square containing the barracks. In November 1892,
Behanzin, the king of Dahomey, being defeated by the French,
set fire to Abomey and fled northward. Under French adminis-
tration the town has been rebuilt, placed (1905) in railway
communication with the coast, and given an ample water supply
by the sinking of artesian wells.

ABOMINATION (from Lat. ab, from, and ominare, to fore-
bode), anything contrary to omen, and therefore regarded with
aversion; a word used often in the Bible to denote evil doctrines

or ceremonial practices which were impure. An incorrect deri-
vation was ab homine {i.e. inhuman), and the spelling of the
adjective " abominable " in the first Shakespeare folio is always
" abhominable." Colloquially " abomination " and " abomin-
able " are used to mean simply excessive in a disagreeable sense.

ABOR HILLS, a tract of country on the north-east frontier
of India, occupied by an independent tribe called the Abors.
It lies north of Lakhimpur district, in the province of eastern
Bengal and Assam, and is bounded on the east by the Mishmi
Hills and on the west by the Miri Hills, the villages of the tribe
extending to the Dibong river. The term Abor is an Assamese
word, signifying "barbarous" or "independent," and is applied
in a general sense by the Assamese to many frontier tribes; but
in its restricted sense it is specially given to the above tract.
The Abors, together with the cognate tribes of Miris, Daphlas
and Akas, are supposed to be descended from a Tibetan stock.
They are a quarrelsome and sulky race, violently divided in
their political relations. In former times they committed fre-
quent raids upon the plains of Assam, and have been the object
of more than one retaliatory expedition by the British govern-
ment. In 1893-94 occurred the first Bor Abor expedition.
Some military police sepoys were murdered in British territory,
and a force of 600 troops was sent, who traversed the Abor
country, and destroyed the villages concerned in the murder
and all other villages that opposed the expedition. A second
expedition became necessary later on, two small patrols having
been treacherously murdered; and a force of 100 British troops
traversed the border of the Abor country and punished the tribes,
while a blockade was continued against them from 1894 to 1900.

See Colonel Dalton's Ethnology of Bengal, 1872.

ABORIGINES, a mythical people of central Italy, connected
in legendary history with Aeneas, Latinus and Evander. They
were supposed to have descended from their mountain home
near Reate (an ancient Sabine town) upon Latium, whence they
expelled the Siceli and subsequently settled down as Latini
under a King Latinus (Dion Halic. i. 9. 60). The most gener-
ally accepted etymology of the name {ab origine), according to
which they were the original inhabitants'( = Gk. airdxOoves) of the
country, is inconsistent with the fact that the oldest authorities
{e.g. Cato in his Origines) regarded them as Hellenic immigrants,
not as a native Italian people. Other explanations suggested
are arborigines, "tree-born," and aberrigines, "nomads." His-
torical and ethnographical discussions have led to no result;
the most that can be said is that, if not a general term, "abori-
gines " may be the name of an Italian stock, about whom the
ancients knew no more than ourselves.

In modern times the term "Aborigines" has been extended in
signification, and is used to indicate the inhabitants found in a
country at its first discovery, in contradistinction to colonies or
new races, the time of whose introduction into the country is
known.

The Aborigines' Protection Society was founded in 1838 in
England as the result of a royal commission appointed at the
instance of Sir T. Fowell Buxton to inquire into the treatment
of the indigenous populations of the various British colonies.
The inquiry revealed the gross cruelty and injustice with which
the natives had been often treated. Since its foundation the
society has done much to make English colonization a synonym
for humane and generous treatment of savage races.

ABORTION (from Lat. aboriri, to fail to be born, or perish),
in obstetrics, the premature separation ' and expulsion of the
contents of the pregnant uterus. It is a common terminology
to call premature labour of an accidental type a " miscarriage,"
in order to distinguish " abortion " as a deliberately induced
act, whether as a medical necessity by the accoucheur, or as
a criminal proceeding (see Medical Jurisprudence) ; otherwise
the term "abortion" would ordinarily be used when occurring
before the eighth month of gestation, and " premature labour "
subsequently. As an accident of pregnancy, it is far from un-
common, although its relative frequency, as compared with
that of completed gestation, has been very differently estimated
by accoucheurs. It is more liable to occur in the earlier than

ABORTION

in the later months of pregnancy, and it would also appear to
occur more readily at the periods corresponding to those of the
menstrual discharge. It may be induced by numerous causes,
both of a local and general nature. Malformations of the pelvis,
accidental injuries and the diseases and displacements to which
the uterus is liable, on the one hand; and, on the other, various
morbid conditions of the ovum or placenta leading to the death
of the foetus, are among the direct local causes. The general
causes embrace certain states of the system which are apt to
exercise a more or less direct influence upon the progress of
utero-gestation. The tendency to recurrence in persons who
have previously miscarried is well known, and should ever be
borne in mind with the view of avoiding any cause likely to lead
to a repetition of the accident. Abortion resembles ordinary
labour in its general phenomena, excepting that in the former
hemorrhage often to a large extent forms one of the leading
symptoms. The treatment embraces the means to be used by
rest, astringents and sedatives, to prevent the occurrence when
it merely threatens; or when, on the contrary, it is inevitable,
to accomplish as speedily as possible the complete removal of
the entire contents of the uterus.

Among primitive savage races abortion is practised to a far
less extent than infanticide (q.v.), which offers a simpler way of
getting rid of inconvenient progeny. But it is common among
the American Indians, as well as in China, Cambodia and India,
although throughout Asia it is generally contrary both to law
and religion. How far it was considered a crime among the
civilized nations of antiquity has long been debated. Those
who maintain the impunity of the practice rely for their authority
upon certain passages in the classical authors, which, while
bitterly lamenting the frequency of this enormity, yet never
allude to any laws by which it might be suppressed. For ex-
ample, in one of Plato's dialogues (Theael.), Socrates is made to
speak of artificial abortion as a practice, not only common but
allowable; and Plato himself authorizes it in his Republic
(lib. v.). Aristotle (Polit. lib. vii. c. 17) gives it as his opinion
that no child ought to be suffered to come into the world, the
mother being above forty or the father above fifty-five years of
age. Lysias maintained, in one of his pleadings quoted by
Harpocration, that forced abortion could not be considered
homicide, because a child in utero was not an animal, and had no
separate existence. Among the Romans, Ovid {Amor. lib. ii.),
Juvenal (Sat. vi. 594) and Seneca (Consol. ad Hel. 16) mention
the frequency of the offence, but maintain silence as to any
laws for punishing it. On the other hand, it is argued that the
authority of Galen and Cicero (pro Cluenlio) place it beyond a
doubt that, so far from being allowed to pass with impunity,
the offence in question was sometimes punished by death;
that the authority of Lysias is of doubtful authenticity; and
that the speculative reasonings of Plato and Aristotle, in matters
of legislation, ought not to be confounded with the actual state
of the laws. Moreover, Stobaeus (Serm. 73) has preserved a
passage from Musonius, in which that philosopher expressly
states that the ancient law-givers inflicted punishments on
females who caused themselves to abort. After the spread of
Christianity among the Romans, however, foeticide became
equally criminal with the murder of an adult, and the barbarian
hordes which afterwards overran the empire also treated the
offence as a crime punishable with death. This severe penalty
remained in force in all the countries of Europe until the Middle
Ages. With the gradual disuse of the old barbarous punishments
so universal in medieval times came also a reversal of opinion
as to the magnitude of the crime involved in killing a child not
yet born. But the exact period of transition is not clearly
marked.

In England the Anglo-Saxons seem to have regarded abortion
only as an ecclesiastical offence. Sir Matthew Hale (1600-1676)
tells us that if anything is done to "a woman quick or great
with child, to make an abortion, or whereby the child within
her is killed, it is not murder or manslaughter by the law of
England, because it is not yet in rerum nature" But the
common law appears, nevertheless, to have treated as a mis-

demeanour any attempt to effect the destruction of such an
infant, though unsuccessful. Blackstone (1723-1780), to be
sure, a hundred years later, says that, " if a woman is quick
with child, and by poison or otherwise killeth it in her womb,
or if any one beat her, whereby the child dieth in her body, and
she is delivered of a dead child, this, though not murder, was,
by the ancient law, homicide or manslaughter." Whatever
may have been the exact view taken by the common law, the
offence was made statutory by an act of 1803, making the
attempt to cause the miscarriage of a woman, not being, or not
being proved, to be quick with child, a felony, punishable with
fine, imprisonment, whipping or transportation for any term
not exceeding fourteen years. Should the woman have proved
to have quickened, the attempt was punishable with death.
The provisions of this statute were re-enacted in 1828. The
English law on the subject is now governed by the Offences
against the Person Act 1861, which makes the attempting to
cause miscarriage by administering poison or other noxious
thing, or unlawfully using any instrument equally a felony,
whether the woman be, or be not, with child. No distinction is
now made as to whether the foetus is or is not alive, legislation
appearing to make the offence statutory with the object of
prohibiting any risk to the life of the mother. If a woman ad-
ministers to herself any poison or other noxious thing, or unlaw-
fully uses any instrument or other means to procure her own
miscarriage, she is guilty of felony. The punishment for the
offence is penal servitude for life or not less than three years, or
imprisonment for not more than two years. If a child is born
alive, but in consequence of its premature birth, or of the means
employed, afterwards dies, the offence is murder; the general
law as to accessories applies to the offence.

In all the countries of Europe the causing of abortion is now
punishable with more or less lengthy terms of imprisonment.
Indeed, the tendency in continental Europe is to regard the
abortion as a crime against the unborn child, and several codes
(notably that of the German Empire) expressly recognize the
life of the foetus, while others make the penalty more severe if
abortion has been caused in the later stages of pregnancy, or if
the woman is married. According to the weight of authority in
the United States abortion was not regarded as a punishable
offence at common law, if the abortion was produced with the
consent of the mother prior to the time when she became quick
with child; but the Supreme Courts of Pennsylvania and North
Carolina held it a crime at common law, which might be com-
mitted as soon as gestation had begun (Mills v. Com. 13 Pa. St.
630; State v. Slagle, 83 N.C. 630). The attempt is a punishable
offence in several states, but not in Ohio. Nor was it ever murder
at common law to take the life of the child at any period of
gestation, even in the very act of delivery (Mitchell v. Com. 78
Ky. 204). If the death of the woman results it is murder at
common law (Com. v. Parker, 9 Met. [Mass.] 263). It is now
a statutory offence in all states of the Union, but the woman
must be actually pregnant. In most states not only is the person
who causes the abortion punishable, but also any one who sup-
plies any drug or instrument for the purpose. The woman,
however, is not an accomplice (except by statute as in Ohio,
State v. M'Coy, 39 N.E. 3r6), nor is she guilty of any crime
unless by statute as in New York (Penal Code, § 295) and Cali-
fornia (Penal Code, § 275) and Connecticut (Gen. Stats. 1902,
§ rr56). She may be a witness, and her testimony does not
need corroboration. The attempt is also a crime in New York
(1905, People v. Conrad, 102 App. D. 566).

Authorities. — Ploucguet, Commentarius Medicus in processus
criminates super homicidio el infanticidio, &c. (1736); Burke Ryan,
Infanticide, tts Law, Prevalence, Prevention ana History (1862);
G. Greaves, Observations on the Laws referring to Child-Murder and
Criminal Abortion (1864); Storer and Heard, Criminal Abortion,
its Nature, Evidence and Law (Boston, 1868); J. Cave Browne,
Infanticide, its Origin, Progress and Suppression (1857); T. R. Beck,
Medical Jurisprudence (1842); A. S. Taylor, Principles and Practice
of Medical Jurisprudence (1894); Sir J. Stephen, History of the
Criminal Law of England (1883); Sir W. O. Russell, Crimes and
Misdemeanours (3 vols., 1896); Archbold's Pleading and Evidence
in Criminal Cases (1900); Roscoe's Evidence in Criminal Cases (1898);

ABOUKIR— ABRAHAM

14I m-

Treub, van Oppenraag and Vlaming, The Right to Life of the Unborn
Child (New York, 1903); L. Hochheimer, Crimes and Criminal
Procedure (New York, 1897); A. A. Tardieu, &ude medico-Ugal sur
I'avortement (Paris, 1904); F. Berolzheimer, System der Rechts- und
Wissenschaftsphttosophie (Munich, 1904).
ABOUKIR, a village on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt,
N.E. of Alexandria by rail, containing a castle used as
a state prison by Mehemet Ali. Near the village are many
remains of ancient buildings, Egyptian, Greek and Roman.
About 2 m. S.E. of the village are ruins supposed to mark the
site of Canopus. A little farther east the Canopic branch of
the Nile (now dry) entered the Mediterranean.

Stretching eastward as far as the Rosetta mouth of the Nile
is the spacious bay of Aboukir, where on the 1st of August 1798
Nelson fought the battle of the Nile, often referred to as the
battle of Aboukir. The latter title is applied more properly
to an engagement between the French expeditionary army and
the Turks fought on the 25th of July 1799. Near Aboukir, on
the 8th of March 1801, the British army commanded by Sir R.
Abercromby landed from its transports in the face of a strenuous
opposition from a French force entrenched on the beach. (See
French Revolutionary Wars.)

ABOUT, EDMOND FRANCOIS VALENTIN (1828-1885),
French novelist, publicist and journalist, was born on the 14th
of February 1828, at Dieuze, in Lorraine. The boy's school
career was brilliant. In 1848 he entered the Ecole Normale,
taking the second place in the annual competition for admis-
sion, Taine being first. Among his college contemporaries were
Taine, Francisque, Sarcey, Challemel-Lacour and the ill-starred
Prevost-Paradol. Of them all About was, according to Sarcey,
the most highly vitalized, exuberant, brilliant and " undisci-
plined." At the end of his college career he joined the French
school in Athens, but if we may believe his own account, it had
never been his intention to follow the professorial career, for
which the Ecole Normale was a preparation, and in 1853 he
returned to France and frankly gave himself to literature and
journalism. A book on Greece, La Grece contemporaine (1855),
which did not spare Greek susceptibilities, had an immediate
success. In Tolla (1855) About was charged with drawing too
freely on an earlier Italian novel, Vittoria Savelli (Paris, 1841).
This caused a strong prejudice against him, and he was the
object of numerous attacks, to which he was ready enough to
retaliate. The Lettres d'un bon jeune homme, written to the
Figaro under the signature of Valentin de Quevilly, provoked
more animosities. During the next few years, with indefatigable
energy, and generally with full public recognition, he wrote
novels, stories, a play — which failed, — a book-pamphlet on the
Roman question, many pamphlets on other subjects of the day,
newspaper articles innumerable, some art criticisms, rejoinders
to the attacks of his enemies, and popular manuals of political
economy, L'A B C du travailleur (1868), Le progres (1864).
About's attitude towards the empire was that of a candid friend.
He believed in its improvability, greeted the liberal ministry of
Emile Ollivier at the beginning of 1870 with delight and wel-
comed the Franco-German War. That day of enthusiasm had a
terrible morrow. For his own personal part he lost. the loved
home near Saverne in Alsace, which he had purchased in 1858
out of the fruits of his earlier literary successes. With the fall
of the empire he became a republican, and, always an inveterate
anti-clerical, he threw himself with ardour into the battle against
the conservative reaction which made head during the first
years of the republic. From 1872 onwards for some five or six
years his paper, the XIX' Sikle, of which he was the heart and
soul, became a power in the land. But the republicans never
quite forgave the tardiness of his conversion, and no place
rewarded his later zeal. On the 23rd January 1884 he was
elected a member of the French Academy, but died on the 16th
' of January 1885, before taking his seat. His journalism — of
I which specimens in his earlier and later manners will be found
( in the two series of Lettres d'un bon jeune homme A sa cousine
, Madeleine (1861 and 1863), and the posthumous collection, Le
dix-neuvieme Steele (1892) — was of its nature ephemeral. So
were the pamphlets, great and small. His political economy

was that of an orthodox popularizer, and in 110 sense epoch-
making. His dramas are negligible. His more serious novels,
Madelon (1863), L'infdme (1867), the three that form the
trilogy of the Vieitte Roche (1866), and Le roman d'un brave
homme (1880) — a kind of counterblast to the view of the French
workman presented in Zola's Assommoir — contain striking and
amusing scenes, no doubt, but scenes which are often suggestive
of the stage, while description, dissertation, explanation too
frequently take the place of life. His best work after all is to
be found in the books that are . almost wholly farcical, Le nez
d'un notaire (1862); Le roi des montagnes (1856); L'homme d
V oreille cassie (1862); Trente et quarante (1858); Le cas de
M. GuSrin (1862). Here his most genuine wit, his spright-
liness, his vivacity, the fancy that was in him, have free play.
" You will never be more than a little Voltaire," said one
of his masters when he was a lad at school. It was a true
prophecy. (F. T. M.)

ABRABANEL, ISAAC, called also Abravanel, Abarbanel
(1437-1508), Jewish statesman, philosopher, theologian and
commentator, was born at Lisbon of an ancient family which
claimed descent from the royal house of David. Like many of
the Spanish Jews he united scholarly tastes with political ability.
He held a high place in the favour of King Alphonso V., who
entrusted him with the management of important state affairs.
On the death of Alphonso in 1481, his counsellors and favourites
were harshly treated by his successor John, and Abrabanel was
compelled to flee to Spain, where he held for eight years (1484-
1492) the post of a minister of state under Ferdinand and
Isabella. When the Jews were banished from Spain in 1492,
no exception was made in Abrabanel's favour. He afterwards
resided at Naples, Corfu and Monopoli, and in 1 503 removed to
Venice, where he held office as a minister of state till his death
in 1 508. His repute as a commentator on the Scriptures is still
high; in the 17th and 18th centuries he was much read by
Christians such as Buxtorf. Abrabanel often quotes Christian
authorities, though he opposed Christian exegesis of Messianic
passages. He was one of the first to see that for Biblical exegesis
it was necessary to reconstruct the social environment of olden
times, and he skilfully applied his practical knowledge of state-
craft to the elucidation of the books of Samuel and Kings.

ABRACADABRA, a word analogous to Abraxas (q.v.), used
as a magical formula by the Gnostics of the sect of Basilides
in invoking the aid of beneficent spirits against disease and
misfortune. It is found on Abraxas stones which were worn as
amulets. Subsequently its use spread beyond the Gnostics,
and in modern times it is applied contemptuously (e.g. by the
early opponents of the evolution theory) to a conception or
hypothesis which purports to be a simple solution of apparently
insoluble phenomena. The Gnostic physician Serenus Sam-
monicus gave precise instructions as to its mystical use in avert-
ing or curing agues and fevers generally. The paper on which
the word was written had to be folded in the form of a cross,
suspended from the neck by a strip of linen so as to rest on the
pit of the stomach, worn in this way for nine days, and then,
before sunrise, cast behind the wearer into a stream running to
the east. The letters were usually arranged as a triangle in one
of the following ways: —

ABRACADABRA

BRACADABR

RACADAB

ACADA

CAD

ABRACADABRA
ABRACADABR
ABRACADAB
• ABRACADA
ABRACAD
ABRACA
ABRAC
ABRA
ABR
AB
A
ABRAHAM, or Abram (Hebrew for " father is high "), the
ancestor of the Israelites, the first of the great Biblical patri-
archs. His life as narrated in the book of Genesis reflects the
traditions of different ages. It is the latest writer (P) who men-

7°

ABRAHAM

tions Abram (the original form of the name), Nahor and Haran,
sons of Terah, at the close of a genealogy of the sons of Shem,
which includes among its members Eber the eponym of the
Hebrews. Terah is said to have come from Ur of the Chaldees,
usually identified with Mukayyar in south Babylonia. He
migrated to Haran 1 in Mesopotamia, apparently the classical
Carrhae, on a branch of the Habor. Thence, after a short stay,
Abram with his wife Sarai, and Lot the son of Haran, and all
their followers, departed for Canaan. The oldest tradition does
not know of this twofold move, and seems to locate Abram's
birthplace and the homes of his kindred at Haran (Gen. xxiv.
4, 7, xxvii. 43). At the divine command, and encouraged by the
promise that Yahweh would make of him, although hitherto
childless, a great nation, he journeyed down to Shechem, and at
the sacred tree (cf. xxxv. 4, Josh. xxiv. 26, Judg. ix. 6) received
a. new promise that the land would be given unto his seed.
Having built an altar to commemorate the theophany, he
removed to a spot between Bethel and Ai, where he built another
altar and called upon (i.e. invoked) the name of Yahweh (Gen.
xii. 1-9). Here he dwelt for some time, until strife arose between
his herdsmen and those of Lot. Abram thereupon proposed to
Lot that they should separate, and allowed his nephew the
first choice. Lot preferred the fertile land lying east of the
Jordan, whilst Abram, after receiving another promise from
Yahweh, moved down to the oaks of Mamre in Hebron and built
an altar. In the subsequent history of Lot and the destruction
of Sodom and Gomorrah,, Abram appears prominently in a fine
passage where he intercedes with Yahweh on behalf of Sodom,
and is promised that if ten righteous men can be found therein
the city shall be preserved (xviii. 16-33).

A peculiar passage, more valuable for the light it throws
upon primitive ideas than for its contribution to the history
of Abram, narrates the patriarch's visit to Egypt. Driven by
a famine to take refuge in Egypt (cf. xxvi. 1, xli. 57, xlii. 1),
he feared lest his wife's beauty should arouse the evil designs
of the Egyptians and thus endanger his own safety, and alleged
that Sarai was his sister. This did not save her from the Pharaoh,
who took her into the royal harem and enriched Abram with
herds and servants. But when Yahweh "plagued Pharaoh and
his house with great plagues" suspicion was aroused, and the
Pharaoh rebuked the patriarch for his deceit and sent him away
under an escort (xii. 10-xiii. 1). This story of Abram and his
increased wealth (xiii. 2) receives no comment at the hands of
the narrator, and in its present position would make Sarai over
sixty years of age (xii. 4, xvii. 1, 17). A similar experience is
said to have happened to Abraham and Sarah at Gerar with the
Philistine king Abimelech (xx. E), but the tone of the narrative
is noticeably more advanced, and the presents which the patri-
arch receives are compensation for the king's offence. Here,
however, Sarah has reached her ninetieth year (xvii. 17). (The
dates are due to the post-exilic framework in which the stories
are inserted.) Still another episode of the same nature is re-
corded of Isaac and Rebekah at Gerar, also with Abimelech.
Ethically it is the loftiest, and Isaac obtains his wealth simply
through his successful farming. Arising out of the incident is
an account of a covenant between Abimelech and Isaac (xxvi.
'6-33> J)> a duplicate of which is placed in the time of Abraham
(xxi. 22-34, J and E). Beersheba, which figures in both, is cele-
brated by the planting of a sacred tree and (like Bethel) by the
invocation of the name of Yahweh. This district is the scene
of the birth of Ishmael and Isaac. As Sarai was barren (cf.
xi. 30) 2 the promise that his seed should possess the land seemed
incapable of fulfilment. According to one rather obscure narra-
tive, Abram's sole heir was the servant, who was over his
household, apparently a certain Eliezer of Damascus' (xv. 2,

1 The name is not spelt with the same guttural as Haran the son
of Terah.

1 Barrenness is a motif which recurs in the stories of Rebekah,
Rachel, the mother of Samson, and Hannah (Gen. xxv. 21, xxix. 31 ;
Judg. xiii. 2; 1 Sam.i. 5).

' Abram's connexion with Damascus is supplemented in the
traditions of Nicolaus of Damascus as cited by Josephus (Antiq.
i. 7. 2).

the text is corrupt). He is now promised as heir one of his own
flesh, and a remarkable and solemn passage records how the
promise was ratified by a covenant. The description is particu-
larly noteworthy for the sudden appearance of birds of prey,
which attempted to carry off the victims of the sacrificial cove-
nant. The interpretation of the evil omen is explained by an
allusion to the bondage of the Israelites in Egypt and their
return in the fourth generation (xv. 16; contrast v. 13, after four
hundred years; the chapter is extremely intricate and'has the
appearance of being of secondary origin). The main narrative
now relates how Sarai, in accordance with custom, gave to
Abram her Egyptian handmaid Hagar, who, when she found she
was with child, presumed upon her position to the extent that
Sarai,, unable to endure the reproach of barrenness (cf . the story
of Hannah, 1 Sam. i. 6), dealt harshly with her and forced her to
flee (xvi. 1-14, J; on the details see Ishmael). Another tradi-
tion places the expulsion of Hagar after the birth of Isaac. It
was thirteen years after the birth of Ishmael, according to the
latest narratives, that God appeared unto Abram with a renewed
promise that his posterity should inhabit the land. To mark the
solemnity of the occasion, the patriarch's name was changed to
Abraham, and that of his wife to Sarah. 4 A covenant was
concluded with him for all time, and as a sign thereof the rite of
circumcision was instituted (xvii. P). The promise of a son to
Sarah made Abraham "laugh", a punning allusion to the name
Isaac (q.v.) which appears again in other forms. Thus, it is
Sarah herself who "laughs" at the idea, when Yahweh appears
to Abraham at Mamre (xviii. 1-15, J), or who^ when the child is
born cries " God hath made me laugh; every one that heareth
will laugh at me" (xxi. 6, E). Finally, there is yet another
story which attributes the flight of Hagar and Ishmael to Sarah's
jealousy at the sight of Ish'mael's "mocking" (rather dancing
or playing, the intensive form of the verb "to laugh") on the
feast day when Isaac was weaned (xxi. 8 sqq.). But this last
story is clearly out of place, since a child who was then fourteen
years old (cf . xvii. 24, xxi. 5) could scarcely be described as a weak
babe who had to be carried (xxi. 14; see the commentaries).

Abraham was now commanded by God to offer up Isaac in
the land of Moriah. Proceeding to obey, he was prevented by
an angel as he was about to sacrifice his son, and slew a ram
which he found on the spot. As a reward for his obedience he
received another promise of a numerous seed and abundant
prosperity (xxii. E). Thence he returned to Beersheba. The
story is one of the few told by E, and significantly teaches that
human sacrifice was not required by the Almighty (cf. Mic.
vi. 7 seq.). The interest of the narrative now extends to Isaac
alone. To his "only son" (cp. xxii. 2, 12) Abraham gave all
he had, and dismissed the sons of his concubines to the lands
outside Palestine; they were thus regarded as less intimately
related to Isaac and his descendants (xxv. 1-4, 6). The measures
taken by the patriarch for the marriage of Isaac are circum-
stantially described. His head-servant was sent to his master's
country and kindred to find a suitable bride, and the necessary
preparation for the story is contained in the description of
Nahor's family (xxii. 20-24). The picturesque account of the
meeting with Rebekah throws interesting light on oriental
custom. Marriage with one's own folk (cf. Gen. xxvii. 46, 1
xxix. 19; Judg. xiv. 3), and especially with a cousin, is recom-
mended now even as in the past. For its charm the story is
comparable with the account of Jacob's experiences in the same
land (xxix.). For the completion of the history of Abraham
the compiler of Genesis has used P's narrative. Sarah is said
to have died at a good old age, and was buried in the cave of
Machpelah near Hebron, which the patriarch had purchased,
with the adjoining field, from Ephron the Hittite (xxiii.) ; and here
he himself was buried. Centuries later the tomb became a place
of pilgrimage and the traditional site is marked by a fine mosque. 5

4 Abram (or Abiram) is a familiar and old-attested name meaning
"(my) father is exalted"; the meaning of Abraham is obscure
and the explanation Gen. xvii. 5 is mere word-play. It is possible
that raham was originally only a dialectical form of ram.

5 See Sir Charles Warren s description, Hasting's Did. Bible,
vol. iii. pp. 200 seq. The so-called Babylonian colouring of Gen

ABRAHAM

7 1

The story of Abraham is of greater value for the study of Old
Testament theology than for the history of Israel. He became
to the Hebrews the embodiment of their ideals, and stood at
their head as the founder of the nation, the one to whom Yahweh
had manifested his love by frequent promises and covenants.
From the time when he was bidden to leave his country to enter
the unknown land, Yahweh was ever present to encourage him
to trust in the future when his posterity should possess the land,
and so, in its bitterest hours, Israel could turn for consolation
to the promises of the past which enshrined in Abraham its
hopes for the future. Not only is Abraham the founder of
religion, but he, of all the patriarchal figures, stands out most
prominently as the recipient of the promises (xii.' 2 seq. 7, xiii.
14-17, xv., xvii., xviii. 17-19, xxii. 17 seq.; cf. xxiv. 7), and these
the apostle Paul associates with the coming of Christ, and,
adopting a characteristic and artificial style of interpretation
prevalent in his time, endeavours to force a Messianic interpre-
tation out of them. 1

For the history of the Hebrews the life of Abraham is of the
same value as other stories of traditional ancestors. The narra-
tives, viewed dispassionately, represent him as an idealized
sheikh (with one important exception, Gen. xiv., see below),
about whose person a number of stories have gathered. As the
father of Isaac and Ishmael, he is ultimately the common an-
cestor of the Israelites and their nomadic fierce neighbours, men
roving unrestrainedly like the wild ass, troubled by and troubling
every one (xvi. 12). As the father of Midian, Sheba and other
Arabian tribes (xxv. 1-4), it is evident that some degree of
kinship was felt by the Hebrews with the dwellers of the more
distant south, and it is characteristic of the genealogies that the
mothers (Sarah, Hagar and Keturah) are in the descending
scale as regards purity of blood. This great ancestral figure
came, it was said, from Ur in Babylonia and Haran and thence
to Canaan. Late tradition supposed that the migration was
to escape Babylonian idolatry (Judith v., Jubilees xii.; cf.
Josh. xxiv. 2), and knew of Abraham's miraculous escape from
death (an obscure reference to some act of deliverance in Is.
xxix. 22). The route along the banks of the Euphrates from
south to north was so frequently taken by migrating tribes that
the tradition has nothing improbable in itself, but the prominence
given in the older narratives to the view that Haran was the
home gives this the preference. It was thence that Jacob, the
father of the tribes of Israel, came and the route to Shechem
and Bethel is precisely the same in both. A twofold migration
is doubtful, and, from what is known of the situation in Palestine
in the 15th century B.C., is extremely improbable. Further,
there is yet another parallel in the story of the conquest by
Joshua (q.v.), partly implied and partly actually detailed (cf.
also Josh. viii. 9 with Gen. xii. 8, xiii. 3), whence it would appear
that too much importance must not be laid upon any ethnological
interpretation which fails to account for the three versions.
That similar traditional elements have influenced them is not
unlikely; but to recover the true historical foundation is
difficult. The invasion or immigration of certain tribes from
the east of the Jordan; the presence of Aramaean blood among
the Israelites (see Jacob) ; the origin of the sanctity of venerable
sites, — these and other consideratons may readily be found to
account for the traditions. Noteworthy coincidences in the
lives of Abraham and Isaac, noticed above, point to the fluctu-
ating state of traditions in the oral stage, or suggest that Abra-
ham's life has been built up by borrowing from the common
stock of popular lore. 2 More original is the parting of' Lot and
Abraham at Bethel. The district was the scene of contests
between Moab and the Hebrews (cf. perhaps Judg. iii.),
and if this explains part of the story, the physical configura-
tion of the Dead Sea may have led to the legend of the
xxiii. has been much exaggerated ; see S. R. Driver, Genesis, ad loc. ;
S. A. Cook, Laws of Moses, p. 208.

1 See H. St. J. Thackeray, Relation of St Paid to Contemporary
Jewish Thought, p. 69 seq. (1900).

J On the other hand, the coincidences in xx. xxi. are due to E,
who is also the author of xxii. Apart from these the narratives of
Abraham are from J and P.

destruction of inhospitable and vicious cities (see Sodom and
Gomorrah).

Different writers have regarded the life of Abraham differently.
He has been viewed as a chieftain of the Amorites (q.v.), as the
head of a great Semitic migration from Mesopotamia; or, since
Ur and Haran were seats of Moon-worship, he has been identi-
fied with a moon-god. From the character of the literary evi-
dence and the locale of the stories it has been held that Abraham
was originally associated with Hebron. The double name Abram-
Abraham has even suggested that two personages have been
combined in the Biblical narrative; although this does not
explain the change from Sarai to Sarah. 3 But it is important
to remember that the narratives are not contemporary, and
that the interesting discovery of the name Abi-ramu (Abram) on
Babylonian contracts of about 2000 b.c. does not prove the
Abram of the Old Testament to be an historical person, even as
the fact that there were " Amorites " in Babylonia at the same
period does not make it certain that the patriarch was one of
their number. One remarkable chapter associates Abraham
with kings of Elam and the east (Gen. xiv.). No longer a
peaceful sheikh but a warrior with a small army of 318 followers,' 1
he overthrows a combination of powerful monarchs who have
ravaged the land. The genuineness of the narrative has been
strenuously maintained, although upon insufficient grounds.

"It is generally recognized that this chapter holds quite an
isolated place in the Pentateuchal history; it is the only passage
which presents Abraham in the character of a warrior, and connects
him with historical names and political movements, and there are
no clear marks by which it can be assigned to any one of the docu-
ments of which Genesis is made up. Thus, while one school of
interpreters finds in the chapter the earliest fragment of the political
history of western Asia, some even holding with Ewald that the
narrative is probably based on old Canaanite records, other critics,
as Noldeke, regard the whole as unhistorical and comparatively
late in origin. On the latter view, which finds its main support
in the_ intrinsic difficulties of the narrative, it is scarcely possible
to avoid the conclusion that the chapter is one of the latest additions
to the Pentateuch (Wellhausen and many others)." 6

On the assumption that' a recollection of some invasion in
remote days may have been current, considerable interest is
attached to the names. Of these, Amraphel, king of Shinar
(i.e. Babylonia, Gen. x. 10), has been identified with Kham-
murabi, one of the greatest of the Babylonian kings (c. 2000
b.c), and since he claims to have ruled as far west as the
Mediterranean Sea, the equation has found considerable favour.
Apart from chronological difficulties, the identification of the
king and his country is far from certain, and at the most can
only be regarded as possible. Arioch, king of Ellasar, has been
connected with Eriaku of Larsa — the reading has been ques-
tioned — a contemporary with Khammurabi. Chedorlaomer,
king of Elam, bears what is doubtless a genuine Elamite name.
Finally, the name of Tid'al, king of Goiim, may be identical
with a certain Tudhulu the son of Gazza, a warrior, but appar-
ently not a king, who is mentioned in a Babylonian inscription,
and Goiim may stand for Gutim, the Guti being a people who
lived to the east of Kurdistan. Nevertheless, there is as yet no
monumental evidence in favour of the genuineness of the story,
and at the most it can only be said that the author (of what-
ever date) has derived his names from a trustworthy, source,
and in representing an invasion of Palestine by Babylonian
overlords has given expression to a possible situation. 6 The
improbabilities and internal difficulties of the narrative remain

8 According to Breasted (Amer. Journ. of Sent. Lit., 1904, p. 36),
the "field of Abram " occurs among the places mentioned in the
list of the Egyptian king Shishak (No. 71-2) in the 10th century.
See also his History of Egypt, p. 530.

* The number is precisely that of the total numerical value of the
consonants of the name "Eliezer " (Gen. xv. 2); an astral signi-
fication has also been found.

6 W. R. Smith, Ency. Brit. (9th ed., 1883), art. " Melchizedek."

• That the names may be those of historical personages is no proof
of historical accuracy: "We cannot therefore conclude that the
whole account is accurate history, any more than we can argue
that Sir Walter Scott's Anne of Geierstein is throughout a correct
account of actual events because we know that Charles the Bold and
Margaret of Anjou were real people" (W. H. Bennett, Century
Bible: Genesis, p. 186).

ABRAHAM— ABRUZZI

untouched, only the bare outlines may very well be historical.
If, as most critics agree, it is a historical romance (cf., e.g., the
book of Judith), it is possible that a writer, preferably one who
lived in the post-exilic age and was acquainted with Babylonian
history, desired to enhance the greatness of Abraham by exhibit-
ing his military success against the monarchs of the Tigris and
Euphrates, the high esteem he enjoyed in Palestine and his
lofty character as displayed in his interview with Melchizedek.

See further, Pinches, Old Test, in Light of Hist. Records, pp. 208-
236; Driver, Genesis, p. xlix., and notes on ch. xiv. ; Addis, Docu-
ments of the Hexateuch, ii. pp. 208-213; Carpenter and Harford-
Battersby, The Hexateuch, i. pp. 157-159, 168; Bezold, Bab.-Assyr.
Keilinschriften, pp. 24 sqq., 54 sqq.; A. Jeremias, Altes Test, im
Lichte d. Alten Orients^', pp. 343 seq.; also the literature to the
art. Genesis. Many fanciful legends about Abraham founded on
Biblical accounts orspun out of the fancy are to be found in Josephus,
and in post-Biblical and Mahommedan literature; for these, re-
ference may be made to Beer, .Leben Abrahams (1859); Griin-
baum, Neue Beitrdge z. semil. Sagenkunde, pp. 89 seq. (1893); the
apocryphal "Testament of Abraham " (M. R. James in Texts
and Studies, 1892); W. Tisdall, Original Sources of the Quran,
passim (1905). (S. A. C.)

ABRAHAM A SANCTA CLARA (1644-1709), Austrian divine,
was born at Kreenheinstetten, near Messkirch, in July 1644.
His real name was Ulrich Megerle. In 1662 he joined the order
of Barefooted Augustinians, and assumed the name by which he
is known. In this order he rose step by step until he became
prior provincialis and definite* of his province. Having early
gained a great reputation for pulpit eloquence, he was appointed
court preacher at Vienna in 1669. The people flocked to hear
him, attracted by the, force and homeliness of his language,
the grotesqueness of his humour, and the impartial severity
with which he lashed the follies of all classes of society and of
the court in particular. In general he spoke as a man of the
people, the predominating quality of his style being an over-
flowing and often coarse wit. There are, however, many pass-
ages in his sermons in which he rises to loftier thought and
uses more dignified language. He died at Vienna on the 1st of
December 1709. In his published writings he displayed much
the same qualities as in the pulpit. Perhaps the most favourable
specimen of his style is his didactic novel entitled Judas der
Erzschelm (4 vols., Salzburg, 1686-1695).

His works have been several times reproduced in whole or in part,
though with many spurious interpolations. The best edition is
that published in 21 vols, at Passau and Lindau (1835-1854). See
Th. G. von Karajan, Abraham a Sancta "Clara (Vienna, 1867);
Blanckenburg, Studien uber die Sprache Abrahams a S. C. (Halle,
1897); Sexto, Abraham a S. C. (Sigmaringen, 1896); Schnell,
Pater A. a S. C. (Munich, 1895) ; H. Mareta, t)ber Judas d. Erzschelm
(Vienna, 1875).

ABRAHAM IBN DAUD (c. 1110-1180), Jewish historiographer
and philosopher of Toledo. His historical work was the Book of
Tradition (Sepher Haqabala), a chronicle down to the year n 61.
This was a defence of the traditional record, and also contains
valuable information for the medieval period. It was translated
into Latin by Gcnebrad (1519). His philosophy was expounded
in an Arabic work better known under its Hebrew title 'Emunah
Ramah (Sublime Faith). This was translated into German by
Weil (1882). Ibn Daud was one of the first Jewish scholastics to
adopt the Aristotelian system; his predecessors were mostly
neo-Platonists. Maimonides owed a good deal to him.

ABRAHAMITES, a sect of deists in Bohemia in the 18th
century, who professed to be followers of the pre-drcumcised
Abraham. Believing in one God, they contented themselves
with the Decalogue and the Paternoster. Declining to be classed
either as Christians or Jews, they were excluded from the edict
of toleration promulgated by the emperor Joseph II. in 1781,
and deported to various parts of the country, the men being
drafted into frontier regiments. Some became Roman Catholics,
and those who retained their " Abrahamite " views were not
able to hand them on to the next generation.

ABRAHAM-MEN, the nickname for vagrants who infested
England in Tudor times. The phrase is certainly as old as 1561,
and was due to these beggars pretending that they were patients
discharged from the Abraham ward at Bedlam. The genuine
Bedlamite was allowed to roam the country on his discharge,

soliciting alms, provided he wore a badge. This humane privi-
lege was grossly abused, and thus gave rise to the slang phrase
" to sham Abraham."

ABRANTES, a town of central Portugal, in the district of
Santarem, formerly included in the province of Estremadura;
on the right bank of the river Tagus, at the junction of the
Madrid-Badajoz-Lisbon railway with the Guarda-Abrantes
line. Pop. (1900) 7255. Abrantes, which occupies the crest of
a hill covered with olive woods, gardens and vines, is a fortified
town, with a thriving trade in fruit, olive oil and grain. As it
commands the highway down the Tagus valley to Lisbon, it
has usually been regarded as an important military position.
Originally an Iberian settlement, founded about 300 B.C., it
received the name Aurantes from the Romans; perhaps owing
to the alluvial gold (aurum) found along the Tagus. Roman
mosaics, coins, the remains of an aqueduct, and other antiquities
have been discovered in the neighbourhood. Abrantes was cap-
tured on the 24th of November 1807 by the French under
General Junot, who for this achievement was created duke of
Abrantes. By the Convention of Cintra (22nd of August 1808)
the town was restored to the British and Portuguese.

ABRASION (from Lat. ab, off, and radere, to scrape), the
process of rubbing off or wearing down, as of rock by moving
ice, or of coins by wear and tear; also used of the results of
such a process as an abrasion or excoriation of the skin. In
machinery, abrasion between moving surfaces has to be prevented
as much as possible by the use of suitable materials, good fitting
and lubrication. Engineers and other craftsmen make extensive
use of abrasion, effected by the aid of such abrasives as emery
and carborundum, in shaping, finishing and polishing their
work.

ABRAUM SALTS (from the German Abraum-salze, salts to be
removed), the name given to a mixed deposit of salts, including
halite, carnallite, kieserite, &c, found in association with rock-
salt at Stassfurt in Prussia.

ABRAXAS, or Abrasax, a word engraved on certain antique
stones, called on that account Abraxas stones, which were used
as amulets or charms. The Basilidians, a Gnostic sect, attached
importance to the word, if, indeed, they did not bring it into use.
The letters of d/3pa£as,in the Greek notation,make up the number
365, and the Basilidians gave the name to the 365 orders of
spirits which, as they conceived, emanated in succession from
the Supreme Being. These orders were supposed to occupy
365 heavens, each faslu'oned like, but inferior to that above it;
and the lowest of the heavens was thought to be the abode of
the spirits who formed the earth and its inhabitants, and to
whom was committed the administration of its affairs. Abraxas
stones are of very little value. In addition to the word Abraxas
and other mystical characters, they have often cabalistic figures
engraved on them. The commonest of these have the head of a
fowl, and the arms and bust of a man, and terminate in the
body and tail of a serpent.

ABROGATION (Lat. abrogare, to repeal or annul a law;
rogare, literally " to ask," to propose a law), the annulling
or repealing of a law by legislative action. Abrogation,
which is the total annulling of a law, is to be distinguished
from the term derogation, which is used where a law is only
partially abrogated. Abrogation may be either express or
implied. It is express either when the new law pronounces the
annulment in general terms, as when in a concluding sectioh it
announces that all laws contrary to the provisions of the new
one are repealed, or when in particular terms it announces
specifically the preceding laws which it repeals. It is implied
when the new law contains provisions which are positively
contrary to the former laws without expressly abrogating
those laws, or when the condition of things for which the law
had provided has changed and consequently the need for the
law no longer exists. The abrogation of any statute revives
the provisions of the common law which had been abrogated
by .that statute. See Statute; Repeal.

ABRUZZI E MOLISE, a group of provinces (compartimento) of
Southern Italy, bounded N. by the province of Ascoli, N.W. an'

ABSALOM— ABSALON

W. by Perugia, S.W. by Rome and Caserta, S. by Benevento,
E. by Foggia and N.E. by the Adriatic Sea. It comprises the
provinces of Teramo (population in iooi, 307,444), Aquila
(396,629), Chieti (370,907) and Campobasso (366,571), which,
under the kingdom of Naples, respectively bore the names
Abruzzo Ulteriore I., Abruzzo Ulteriore II., Abruzzo Citeriore
(the reference being to their distance from the capital) and
Molise. The total area is 6567 sq. m. and the population (1901)
1,441,551. The district is mainly mountainous in the interior,
including as it does the central portion of the whole system of
the Apennines and their culminating point, the Gran Sasso
d'ltalia. Towards the sea the elevation is less considerable,
the hills consisting mainly of somewhat unstable clay and sand,
but the zone of level ground along the coast is quite inconsider-
able. The coast line itself, though over 100 miles in length,
has not a single harbour of importance. The climate varies
considerably with the altitude, the highest peaks being covered
with snow for the greater part of the year, while the valleys
running N.E. towards the sea are fertile and well watered by
several small rivers, the chief of which are the Tronto, Vomano,
Peseara, Sangro, Trigno and Biferno. These are fed by less
important streams, such as the Aterno and Gizio, which water
the valleys between the main chains of the Apennines. They
are liable to be suddenly swollen by rains, and floods and land-
slips often cause considerable damage. This danger has been
increased, as elsewhere in Italy, by indiscriminate timber-felling
on the higher mountains without provision for re-afforestation,
though considerable oak, beech, elm and pine forests still exist
and are the home of wolves, wild boars and even bears. They
also afford feeding-ground for large herds of swine, and the hams
and sausages of the Abruzzi enjoy a high reputation. The
rearing of cattle and sheep was at one time the chief occupation
of the inhabitants, and many of them still drive their flocks
down to the Campagna di Roma for the winter months and
back again in the summer, but more attention is now devoted
to cultivation. This flourishes especially in the valleys and in
the now drained bed of the Lago Fucino. The industries are
various, but none of them is of great importance. Arms and
cutlery are produced at Campobasso and Agnone. At the
exhibition of Abruzzese art, held at Chieti in 1905, fine specimens
of goldsmiths' work of the 15th and 16th centuries, of majolica
of the 17th and 18th centuries, and of tapestries and laces
were brought together; and the reproduction of some of these
is still carried on, the small town of Castelli being the centre of
the manufacture. The river Peseara and its tributary the
Tirino form an important source of power for generating elec-
tricity. The chief towns are (1) Teramo, Atri, Campli, Penne,
Castellammare Adriatieo; (2) Aquila, Avezzano, Celano, Taglia-
cozzo, Sulmona; (3) Chieti, Lanciano, Ortona, Vasto; (4)
Campobasso, Agnone, Isernia. Owing to the nature of the
country, communications are not easy. Railways are (1) the
coast railway (a part of the Bologna-Gallipoli line), with branches
from Giulianova to Teramo and from Termoli to Campobasso;
(2) a line diverging S.E. from this at Peseara and running via
Sulmona (whence there are branches via Aquila and Rieti to
Terni, and via Carpinone to (a) Isernia and Caianello, on the line
from Rome to Naples, and (b) Campobasso and Benevento),
and Avezzano (whence there is a branch to Roccasecca) to
Rome.

The name Abruzzi is conjectured to be a medieval corruption
of Praetuttii. The district was, in Lombard times, part of the
duchy of Spoleto, and, under the Normans, a part of that of
Apulia; it was first formed into a single province in 1240 by
Frederick II., who placed the Jusliciarius Apruiii at Solmona
and founded the city of Aquila. After the Hohenstauffen lost
their Italian dominions, the Abruzzi became a province of the
Angevin kingdom of Naples, to which it was of great strategic
importance. The division into three parts was not made until
the 17th century. The Molise, on the other hand, formed part
of the Lombard duchy of Benevento, and was placed under the
Justiciarius of Terra di Lavoro by Frederick II.: after various
changes it became part of the Capitanata, and was only formed

into an independent province in 1811. The people are remark-
ably conservative in beliefs, superstitions and traditions.

See V. Bindi, Monumenli slorici ed artistici degli Abruzzi (Naples,
1889); A. de Nino, Usi e costumi Abruzzesi (Florence, 1879-1883).'

ABSALOM (Hebrew for " father of [or is] peace "), in the
Bible, the third son of David, king of Israel. He was deemed
the handsomest man in the kingdom. His sister Tamar having
been violated by David's eldest son Amnon, Absalom, after
waiting two years, caused his servants to murder Amnon at a
feast to which he had invited all the king's sons (2 Sam^ xiii.).
After this deed he fled to Talmai, " king " of Geshur (see Josh,
xii. 5 or xiii. 2), his maternal grandfather, and it was not until
five years later that he was fully reinstated in his father's favour
(see Joab). Four years after this he raised a revolt at Hebron,
the former capital. Absalom was now the eldest surviving son
of David, and the present position of the narratives (xv.-xx.)—
after the birth of Solomon and before the struggle between
Solomon and Adonijah — may represent the view that the
suspicion that he was not the destined heir of his father's throne
excited the impulsive youth to rebellion. All Israel and Judah
flocked to his side, and David, attended only by the Cherethites
and Pelethites and some recent recruits from Gath, found it
expedient to flee. The priests remained behind in Jerusalem,
and their sons Jonathan and Ahimaaz served as his spies.
Absalom reached the capital and took counsel with the renowned
Ahithophel. The pursuit was continued and David took refuge
beyond the Jordan. A battle was fought in the " wood of
Ephraim " (the name suggests a locality west of the Jordan)
and Absalom's army was completely routed. He himself was
caught in the boughs of an oak-tree, and as David had strictly
charged his men to deal gently with the young man, Joab was
informed. What a common soldier refused to do even for a
thousand shekels of silver, the king's general at once undertook.
Joab thrust three spears through the heart of Absalom as he
struggled in the branches, and as though this were not enough,
his ten armour-bearers came around and slew him. The king's
overwhelming grief is well known. A great heap of stones was
erected where he fell, whilst another monument near Jerusalem
(not the modern " Absalom's Tomb," which is of later origin)
he himself had erected in his lifetime to perpetuate his name
(2 Sam. xviii. 17 seq.). But the latter notice does not seem to
agree with xiv. 27 (cf. 1 Kings xv. 2). On the narratives in
2 Sam. xiii.-xix., see further David; Samuel, Books of.

ABSALON (c. 1 1 28-1 201), Danish archbishop and statesman,
was born about n 28, the son of Asscr Rig of Fjenneslev, at
whose castle he and his brother Esbjorn were brought up along
with the young prince Valdemar, afterwards Valdemar I. The
Rigs were as pious and enlightened as they were rich. They
founded the monastery of Soro as a civilizing centre, and after
giving Absalon the rudiments of a sound education at home,
which included not only book-lore but every manly and martial
exercise, they sent him to the university of Paris. Absalon first
appears in Saxo's Chronicle as a fellow-guest at Roskilde, at the
banquet given, in n 57, by King Sweyn to his rivals Canute and
Valdemar. Both Absalon and Valdemar narrowly escaped as-
sassination at the hands of their treacherous host on this occa-
sion, but at length escaped to Jutland, whither Sweyn followed
them, but was defeated and slain at the battle of Grathe Heath.
The same year (11 58) which saw Valdemar ascend the Danish
throne saw Absalon elected bishop of Roskilde. Henceforth
Absalon was the chief counsellor of Valdemar, and the promoter
of that imperial policy which, for three' generations, was to give
Denmark the dominion of the Baltic. Briefly, it was Absalon's
intention to clear the northern sea of the Wendish pirates, who
inhabited that portion of the Baltic littoral which we now call
Pomerania, and ravaged the Danish coasts so unmercifully that
at the accession of Valdemar one-third of the realm of Denmark
lay wasted and depopulated. The very existence of Denmark
demanded the suppression and conversion of these stiff-necked
pagan freebooters, and to this double task Absalon devoted the
best part of his life. The first expedition against the Wends,
conducted by Absalon in person, set out in 1160, but it was riot

ABSCESS— ABSENCE

till ir68 that the chief Wendish fortress, at Arkona in Riigen,
containing the sanctuary of their god Svantevit, was surrendered,
the Wends agreeing to accept Danish suzerainty and the Christian
religion at the same time. From Arkona Absalon proceeded by
sea to Garz, in south Riigen, the political capital of the Wends,
and an all but impregnable stronghold. But the unexpected
fall of Arkona had terrified the garrison, which surrendered
unconditionally at the first appearance of the Danish ships.
Absalon, with only Sweyn, bishop of Aarhus, and twelve " house-
carls," thereupon disembarked, passed between a double row of
Wendish warriors, 6000 strong, along the narrow path winding
among the morasses, to the gates of the fortress, and, proceeding
to the temple of the seven-headed god Riigievit, caused the idol
to be hewn down, dragged forth and burnt. The whole popula-
tion of Garz was then baptized, and Absalon laid the foundations
of twelve churches in the isle of Riigen. The destruction of
this chief sally-port of the Wendish pirates enabled Absalon
considerably to reduce the Danish fleet. But he continued to
keep a watchful eye over the Baltic, and in 11 70 destroyed
another pirate stronghold, farther eastward, at Dievenow on
the isle of Wollin. Absalon's last military exploit was the
annihilation, off Strela (Stralsund), on Whit-Sunday 1184, of a
Pomeranian fleet which had attacked Denmark's vassal, Jaromir
of Riigen. He was now but fifty-seven, but his strenuous life
had aged him, and he was content to resign the command of
fleets and armies to younger men, like Duke Valdemar, after-
wards Valdemar II., and to confine himself to the administration
of the empire which his genius had created. In this sphere
Absalon proved himself equally great. The aim of his policy
was to free Denmark from the German yoke. It was contrary
to his advice and warnings that Valdemar I. rendered fealty to
the emperor Frederick Barbarossa at D61e in 1162; and when,
on the accession of Canute V. in 1182, an imperial ambassador
arrived at Roskilde to receive the homage of the new king,
Absalon resolutely withstood him. " Return to the emperor,"
cried he, " and tell him that the king of Denmark will in no wise
show him obedience or do him homage." As the archpastor of
Denmark Absalon also rendered his country inestimable services,
building churches and monasteries, introducing the religious
orders, founding schools and doing his utmost to promote
civilization and enlightenment. It was he who held the first
Danish Synod at Lund in 1167. In n 78 he became archbishop
of Lund, but very unwillingly, only the threat of excommunica-
tion from the holy see finally inducing him to accept the pallium.
Absalon died on the 21st of March 1201, at the family monastery
of Sor6, which he himself had richly embellished and endowed.

Absalon remains one of the most striking and picturesque
figures of the Middle Ages, and was equally great as churchman,
statesman and warrior. That he enjoyed warfare there can be
no doubt; and his splendid physique and early training had well
fitted him for martial exercises. He was the best rider in the
army and the best swimmer in the fleet. Yet he was not like
the ordinary fighting bishops of the Middle Ages, whose sole
concession to their sacred calling was to avoid the " shedding of
blood " by using a mace in battle instead of a sword. Absalon
never neglected his ecclesiastical duties, and even his wars were
of the nature of crusades. Moreover, all his martial energy
notwithstanding, his personality must have been singularly
winning; for it is said of him that he left behind not a single
enemy, all his opponents having long since been converted by
him into friends.

See Saxo, Gesta Danorum, ed. Holder (Strassburg, 1886), books x.-
xvi. ; Steinstrup, Denmark's Rises Historic. Otdtiden og den eddre
Middelalder, pp. 570-735 (Copenhagen, 1897-1905). (R. N. B.)

ABSCESS (from Lat. abscedere, to separate), in pathology, a
collection of pus among the tissues of the body, the result of
bacterial inflammation. Without the presence of septic organ-
isms abscess does not occur. At any rate, every acute abscess
contains septic germs, and these may have reached the inflamed
area by direct infection, or may have been carried thither by
the blood-stream. Previous to the formation of abscess some-
thing has occurred to lower the vitality of the affected tissue —

some gross injury, perchance, or it may be that the power of
resistance against bacillary invasion was lowered by reason of
constitutional weakness. As the result, then, of lowered vitality,
a certain area becomes congested and effusion takes place into
the tissues. This effusion coagulates and a hard, brawny mass
is formed which softens towards the centre. If nothing is done
the softened area increases in size, the skin over it becomes
thinned, loses its vitality (mortifies) and a small " slough " is
formed. When the slough gives way the pus escapes and,
tension being relieved, pain ceases. A local necrosis or death of
tissue takes place at that part of the inflammatory swelling
farthest from the healthy circulation. When the attack of
septic inflammation is very acute, death of the tissue occurs en
masse, as in the core of a boil or carbuncle. Sometimes, however,
no such mass of dead tissue is to be observed, and all that escapes
when the skin is lanced or' gives way is the creamy pus. In the
latter case the tissue has broken down in a molecular form. After
the escape of the core or slough along with a certain amount of
pus, a space, the abscess-cavity, is left, the walls of which are
lined with new vascular tissue which has itself escaped destruc-
tion. This lowly organized material is called granulation tissue,
and exactly resembles the growth which covers the floor of an
ulcer. These granulations eventually fill the contracting cavity
and obliterate it by forming interstitial scar-tissue. This is
called healing by second intention. Pus may accumulate in a
normal cavity, such as a joint or bursa, or in the cranial, thoracic
or abdominal cavity. In all these situations, if the diagnosis
is clear, the principle of treatment is evacuation and drainage.
When evacuating an abscess it is often advisable to scrape away
the lining of unhealthy granulations and to wash out the cavity
with an antiseptic lotion. If the after-drainage of the cavity is
thorough the formation of pus ceases and the watery discharge
from the abscess wall subsides. As the cavity contracts the
discharge becomes less, until at last the drainage tube can be
removed and the external wound allowed to heal. The large
collections of pus which form in connexion with disease of the
spinal column in the cervical, dorsal and lumbar regions are
now treated by free evacuation of the tuberculous pus, with
careful antiseptic measures. The opening should be in as de-
pendent a position as possible in order that the drainage may be
thorough. If tension recurs after opening has been made, as
by the blocking of the tube, or by its imperfect position, or by
its being too short, there is likely to be a fresh formation of pus,
and without delay the whole procedure must be gone through
again. (E. O.*)

ABSCISSA (from the Lat. abscissus, cut off), in the Cartesian
system of co-ordinates, the distance of a point from the axis
of y measured parallel to the horizontal axis y

(axis of x). Thus PS (or OR) is the abscissa s/--..„P

of P. The word appears for the first time in

a Latin work written by Stefano degli Angeli /

(1623-1697), a professor of mathematics in ~0?
Rome. (See Geometry, § Analytical.)

ABSCISSION (from Lat. abscindere), a tearing away, or cut-
ting off; a term used sometimes in prosody for the elision of
a vowel before another, and in surgery especially for abscission
of the cornea, or the removal of that portion of the eyeball
situated in front of the attachments of the recti muscles; in
botany, the separation of spores by elimination of the connexion.

ABSCOND (Lat. abscondere, to hide, put away), to depart in
a secret manner; in law, to remove from the jurisdiction of the
courts or so to conceal oneself as to avoid their jurisdiction. A
person may " abscond " either for the purpose of avoiding arrest
for a crime (see Arrest), or for a fraudulent purpose, such as
the defrauding of his creditors (see Bankruptcy).

ABSENCE (Lat. absentia), the fact of being "away," either
in body or mind; " absence of mind " being a condition in
which the mind is withdrawn from what is passing. The special
occasion roll-call at Eton College is called " Absence," which the
boys attend in their tall hats. A soldier must get permission or
"leave of absence" before he can be away from his regiment.
Seven years' absence with no sign of life either by letter or

ABSENTEEISM— ABSOLUTE

message is held presumptive evidence of death in the law
courts.

ABSENTEEISM, a term used primarily of landed proprietors
who absent themselves from their estates, and live and spend
their incomes elsewhere; in its more extended meaning it in-
cludes all those (in addition to landlords) who live out of a
country or locality but derive their income from some source
within it. Absenteeism is a question which has been much de-
bated, and from both the economic and moral point of view
there is little doubt that it has a prejudicial effect. To it has
been attributed in a great measure the unprosperous condition
of the rural districts of France before the Revolution, when
it was unusual for the great nobles to live on their estates unless
compelled to do so by a sentence involving their " exile " from
Paris. It has also been an especial evil in Ireland, and many
attempts were made to combat it. As early as 1727 a tax of four
shillings in the pound was imposed on all persons holding offices
and employments in Ireland and residing in England. This tax
was discontinued in 1753, but was re-imposed in 1769. In 1774
the tax was reduced to two shillings in the pound, but was
dropped after some years. It was revived by the Independent
Parliament in 1782 and for some ten years brought in a sub-
stantial amount to the revenue, yielding in 1790 as much as
£63,089.

Authorities. — For a discussion of absenteeism from the economic
point of view see N. W. Senior, Lectures on the Rate of Wages, Political
Economy; J. S. Mill, Political Economy; J. R. McCulloch, Treatises
and Essays on Money, &c, article "Absenteeism "; A. T. Hadley,
Economics; on absenteeism in Ireland see A. Young, Tour in
Ireland (1780); T. Prior, List of Absentees (1729); E. Wakefield,
Account of Ireland (1812); W. E. H. Lecky, Ireland in the i8lh
Century (1892) ; A. E. Murray, History of the Commercial and
Financial Relations between England and Ireland (1903); Parlia-
mentary Papers, Ireland, 1830, vii., ditto, 1845, xix.-xxii. ; in France,
A. de Monchretien, Traicte de I'askonomie politique (1615); A. de
Tocqueville, L'Ancien Regime (1857); H. Taine, Les Origines de la
France contemporaine, Vancien Rigime (1876).

ABSINTHE, a liqueur or aromatized spirit, the characteristic
flavouring matter of which is derived from various .species of
wormwood (A rtemisia absinlhium) . Among the other substances
generally employed in its manufacture are angelica root, sweet
flag, dittany leaves, star-anise fruit, fennel and hyssop. A
colourless" alcoholate " (see Liqueurs) is first prepared, and to
this the well-known green colour of the beverage is imparted by
maceration with green leaves of wormwood, hyssop and mint.
Inferior varieties are made by means of essences, the distillation
process being omitted. There are two varieties of absinthe, the
French and the Swiss, the latter of which is of a higher alcoholic
strength than the former. The best absinthe contains 70 to 80%
of alcohol. It is said to improve very materially by storage.
There is a popular belief to the effect that absinthe is frequently
adulterated with copper, indigo or other dye-stuffs (to impart
the green colour), but, in fact, this is now very rarely the case.
There is some reason to believe that excessive absinthe-drinking
leads to effects which are specifically worse than those assoc-
iated with over-indulgence in other forms of alcohol.

ABSOLUTE (Lat. absolvere, to loose, set free), a term having
the general signification of independent, self -existent, uncondi-
tioned. Thus we speak of " absolute " as opposed to " limited "
• or " constitutional " monarchy, or, in common parlance, of an
" absolute failure," i.e. unrelieved by any satisfactory circum-
stances. In philosophy the word has several technical uses.
(1) In Logic, it has been applied to non-connotative terms which
do not imply attributes (see Connotation) , but more commonly,
in opposition to Relative, to terms which do not imply the exist-
ence of some other (correlative) term; e.g. " father " implies
" son," " tutor " " pupil," and therefore each of these terms is
relative. In fact, however, the distinction is formal, and, though
convenient in the terminology of elementary logic, cannot be
strictly maintained. The tefm " man," for example, which, as
compared with " father," " son," " tutor," seems to be absolute,
is obviously relative in other connexions; in various contexts
it implies its various possible opposites, e.g. " woman," " boy,"
" master," " brute." In other words, every term which is

susceptible of definition is ipso facto relative, for definition is
precisely the segregation of the thing defined from all other
things which it is not, i.e. implies a relation. Every term which
has a meaning is, therefore, relative, if only to its contradictory.

(2) The term is used in the phrase " absolute knowledge " to
imply knowledge per se. It has been held, however, that, since
all knowledge implies a knowing subject and a known object,
absolute knowledge is a contradiction in terms (see Relativity).
So also Herbert Spencer spoke of "absolute ethics," as opposed
to systems of conduct based on particular local or temporary
laws and conventions (see Ethics).

(3) By far the most important use of the word is in the phrase
" the Absolute " (see Metaphysics). It is sufficient here to
indicate the problems involved in their most elementary form.
The process of knowledge in the sphere of intellect as in that of
natural science is one of generalization, i.e. the co-ordination of
particular facts under general statements, or in other words, the
explanation of one fact by another, and that other by a third,
and so on. In this way the particular facts or existences are
left behind in the search for higher, more inclusive conceptions;
as twigs are traced to one branch, and branches to one trunk,
so, it is held, all the plurality of sense-given data is absorbed
in a unity which is all-inclusive and self-existent, and has no
" beyond." By a metaphor this process has been described as
the b&bs acco (as of tracing a river to its source). Other phrases
from different points of view have been used to describe the
idea, e.g. First Cause, .Vital Principle (in connexion with the
origin of life), God (as the author and sum of all being), Unity,
Truth (i.e. the sum and culmination of all knowledge), Causa
Causans, &c. The idea in different senses appears both in ideal-
istic and realistic systems of thought.

The theories of the Absolute may be summarized briefly as
follows. (1) The Absolute does not exist, and is not even in any
real sense thinkable. This view is held by the empiricists, who
hold that nothing is knowable save phenomena. The Absolute
could not be conceived, for all knowledge is susceptible of defini-
tion and, therefore, relative. The Absolute includes the idea of
necessity, which the mind cannot cognize. (2) The Absolute
exists for thought only. In this theory the absolute is the un-
known x which the human mind is logically compelled to postu-
late a priori as the only coherent explanation and justification
of its thought. (3) The Absolute exists but is unthinkable,
because it is an aid to thought which comes into operation, as
it were, as a final explanation beyond which thought cannot go.
Its existence is shown by the fact that without it all demonstra-
tion would be a mere circulus in probando or verbal exercise,
because the existence of separate things implies some one thing
which includes and explains them. (4) The Absolute both exists
and is conceivable. It is argued that we do in fact conceive it
in as much as we do conceive Unity, Being, Truth. The concep-
tion is so clear that its inexplicability (admitted) is of no account.
Further, since the unity of our thought implies the absolute,
and since the existence of things is known only to thought, it
appears absurd that the absolute itself should be regarded as
non-existent. The Absolute is substance in itself, the ultimate
basis and matter of existence. All things are merely manifesta-
tions of it, exist in virtue of it, but are not identical with it.
(5) Metaphysical idealists pursue this line of argument in a dif-
ferent way. For them nothing exists save thought; the only
existence that can be predicated of any thing and, therefore, of
the Absolute, is that it is thought. Thought creates God, things,
the Absolute. (6) Finally, it has been held that we can conceive
the Absolute, though our conception is only partial, just as our
conception of all things is limited by the imperfect powers of
human intellect. Thus the Absolute exists for us only in our
thought of it (4 above). But thought itself comes from the
Absolute which, being itself the pure thought of thoughts,
separates from itself individual minds. It is, therefore, perfectly
natural that human thought, being essentially homogeneous
with the Absolute, should be able by the consideration of the
universe to arrive at some imperfect conception of the source
from which all is derived.

7 6

ABSOLUTION— ABSORPTION OF LIGHT

• The whole controversy is obscured by inevitable difficulties
in terminology. The fundamental problem is whether a thing
which is by hypothesis infinite can in any sense be defined, and
if it is not defined, whether it can be said to be cognized or
thought. It would appear to be almost an axiom that anything
which by hypothesis transcends the intellect (i.e. by including
subject and object, knowing and known) is ipso facto beyond the
limits of the knower. Only an Absolute can cognize an absolute.

ABSOLUTION (Lat. absolutio from absolvo, loosen, acquit),
a term used in civil and ecclesiastical law, denoting the act of
setting free or acquitting. In a criminal process it signifies the
acquittal of an accused person on the ground that the evidence
has either disproved or failed to prove the charge brought against
him. In this sense it is now little used, except in Scottish law
in the forms assoilzie and absolvitor. The ecclesiastical use of the
word is essentially different from the civil. It refers not to an
accusation, but to sin actually committed (after baptism) ; and
it denotes the setting of the sinner free from the guilt of the sin,
or from its ecclesiastical penalty (excommunication), or from
both. The authority of the church or minister to pronounce
absolution is based on John xx. 23; Matt, xviii. 18; James v. 16,
&c. In primitive times, when confession of sins was made before
the congregation, the absolution was deferred till the penance
was completed; and there is no record of the use of any special
formula. Men were also encouraged, e.g. by Chrysostom, to
confess their secret sins secretly to God. In course of time
changes grew up. (1) From the 3rd century onwards, secret
(auricular) confession before a bishop or priest was practised.
For various reasons it became more and more common, until
the fourth Lateran council (1215) ordered all Christians of the
Roman obedience to make a confession once a year at least. In
the Greek church also private confession has become obligatory.
(2) In primitive times the penitent was reconciled by imposition
of hands by the bishop with or without the clergy: gradually
the office was left to be discharged by priests, and the outward
action more and more disused. (3) It became the custom to give
the absolution to penitents immediately after their confession
and before the penance was performed. (4) Until the -Middle
Ages the form of absolution after private confession was of the
nature of a prayer, such as " May the Lord absolve thee ";
and this is still the practice of the Greek church. But about the
13th century the Roman formula was altered, and the council
of Trent (1551) declared that the "form" and power of the
sacrament of penance lay in the words Ego te absolvo, &c, and
that the accompanying prayers are not essential to it. Of the
three forms of absolution in the Anglican Prayer Book, that in
the Visitation of the Sick (disused in the church of Ireland by
decision of the Synods of 1871 and 1877) runs "I absolve thee,"
tracing the authority so to act through the church up to Christ:
the form in the Communion Service is precative, while that in
Morning and Evening Prayer is indicative indeed, but so general
as not to imply anything like a judicial decree of absolution.
In the Lutheran church also the practice of private confession
survived the Reformation, together with both the exhibitive
(I forgive, &c.) and declaratory (I declare and pronounce) forms
of absolution. In granting absolution, even after general con-
fession, it is in some places still the custom for the minister,
where the numbers permit of it, to lay his hands on the head of
each penitent. (W. O. B.)

ABSOLUTISM, in aesthetics, a term applied to the theory that
beauty is an objective attribute of things, not merely a subjec-
tive feeling of pleasure in him who perceives. It follows that
there is an absolute standard of the beautiful by which all ob-
jects can be judged. The fact that, in practice, the judgments
even of connoisseurs are perpetually at variance, and that the
so-called criteria of one place or period are more or less opposed
to those of all others, is explained away by the hypothesis that
individuals are differently gifted in respect of the capacity to
appreciate. (See Aesthetics.)

In political philosophy absolutism, as opposed to constitu-
tional government, is the despotic rule of a sovereign unrestrained
by laws and based directly upon force. In the strict sense such

governments are rare, but it is customary to apply the term to a
state at a relatively backward stage of constitutional develop-
ment.

ABSORPTION OF LIGHT. The term "absorption" (from
Lat. absorbere) means literally " sucking up " or " swallowing,"
and thus a total incorporation in something, literally or figura-
tively ; it is technically used in animal physiology for the
function of certain vessels which suck up fluids; and in light
and optics absorption spectrum and absorption band are terms
used in the discussion of the transformation of rays in various
media.

If a luminous body is surrounded by empty space, the light
which it emits suffers no loss of energy as it travels outwards.
The intensity of the light diminishes merely because the total
energy, though unaltered, is distributed over a wider and wider
surface as the rays diverge from the source. To prove this, it
will be sufficient to mention that an exceedingly small deficiency
in the transparency of the free aether would be sufficient to pre-
vent the light of the fixed stars from reaching the earth, since
their distances are so immense. But when light is transmitted
through a material medium, it always suffers some loss, the
light energy being absorbed by the medium, that is, converted
partially or wholly into other forms of energy such as heat,
a portion of which transformed energy may be re-emitted as
radiant energy of a lower frequency. Even the most transparent
bodies known absorb an appreciable portion of the light trans-
mitted through them. Thus the atmosphere absorbs a part of
the sun's rays, and the greater the distance which the rays have
to traverse the greater is the proportion which is absorbed, so
that on this account the sun appears less bright towards sunset.
On the other hand, light can penetrate some distance into all
substances, even the most opaque, the absorption being, however,
extremely rapid in the latter case.

The nature of the surface of a body has considerable influence
on its power of absorbing light. Platinum black, for instance,
in which the metal is in a state of fine division, absorbs nearly
all the light incident on it, while polished platinum reflects the
greater part. In the former case the light penetrating between
the particles is unable to escape by reflexion, and is finally
absorbed.

The question of absorption may be considered from either of
two points of view. We may treat it as a superficial effect,
especially in the case of bodies which are opaque enough or thick
enough to prevent all transmission of light, and we may investi-
gate how much is reflected at the surface and how much is ab-
sorbed; or, on the other hand, we may confine our attention
to the light which enters the body and inquire into the relation
between the decay of intensity and the depth of penetration.
We shall take these two cases separately.

Absorptive Power. — When none of the radiations which fall on
a body penetrates through its substance, then the ratio of the
amount of radiation of a given wave-length which is absorbed
to the total amount received is called the " absorptive power "
of the body for that wave-length. Thus if the body absorbed
half the incident radiation its absorptive power would be 5,
and if it absorbed all the incident radiation its absorptive power
would be 1. A body which absorbs all radiations of all wave-
lengths would be called a " perfectly black body." No such
body actually exists, but such substances as lamp-black and
platinum-black approximately fulfil the condition. The frac-
tion of the incident radiation which is not absorbed by a body
gives a measure of its reflecting power, with which we are not here
concerned. Most bodies exhibit a selective action on light, that
is to say, they readily absorb light of particular wave-lengths,
light of other wave-lengths not being largely absorbed. All
bodies when heated emit the same kind of radiations which they
absorb — an important principle known as the principle of the
equality of radiating and absorbing powers. Thus black sub-
stances such as charcoal are very luminous when heated. A
tile of white porcelain with a black pattern on it will, if heated
red-hot, show the pattern bright on a darker ground. On the
other hand, those substances which either are good reflectors or

ABSTEMII— ABSTRACTION

good transmitters, are not so luminous at the same temperature;
for instance, melted silver, which reflects well, is not so luminous
as carbon at the same temperature, and common salt, which is
very transparent for most kinds of radiation, when poured in a
fused condition out of a bright red-hot crucible, looks almost
like water, showing only a faint red glow for a moment or two.
But all such bodies appear to lose their distinctive properties
when heated in a vessel which nearly encloses them, for in that
case those radiations which they do not emit are either trans-
mitted through them from the walls of the vessel behind, or else
reflected from their surface. This fact may be expressed by
saying that the radiation within a heated enclosure is the same
as that of a perfectly black body.

Coefficient of Absorption, and Law of Absorption. — The law
which governs the rate of decay of light intensity in passing
through any medium may be readily obtained. If Io represents
the intensity of the light which enters the surface, Ii the intensity
after passing through i centimetre, I 2 the intensity after passing
through 2 centimetres, and so on; then we should expect that
whatever fraction of Io is absorbed in the first centimetre, the
same fraction of Ii will be absorbed in the second. That is, if an
amount /To is absorbed in the first centimetre, jh is absorbed in
the second, and so on. We have then
Ii = Io(i-j)
I 2 = Ii(i-j)=Io(i-j) 2
Ia = I J (i-j)=Io(i-i) 3
and so on, so that if I is the intensity after passing through a
thickness t in centimetres

I=Io(i-j)' (*)•

We might call /, which is the proportion absorbed in one
centimetre, the " coefficient of absorption " of the medium. It
would, however, not then apply to tie case of a body for which
the whole light is absorbed in less than one centimetre. It is
better then to define the coefficient of absorption as a quantity
k such that k/n of the light is absorbed in i/»th part of a centi-
metre, where n may be taken to be a very large number. The
formula (i) then becomes

I = Io^*' • '(2)

where e is the base of Napierian logarithms, and k is a constant
which is practically the same as ,7 for bodies which do not absorb
very rapidly.

There is another coefficient of absorption (k) which occurs in
Helmholtz's theory of dispersion (see Dispersion). It is closely
related to the coefficient k which we have just defined, the
equation connecting the two being &=4xk/X,X being the wave-
length of the incident light.

The law of absorption expressed by the formula (2) has been
verified by experiments for various solids, liquids and gases.
The method consists in comparing the intensity after trans-
mission through a layer of known thickness of the absorbent
with the intensity of light from the same source which has not
passed through the medium, k being thus obtained for various
thicknesses and found to be constant. In the case of solutions,
if the absorption of the solvent is negligible, the effect of in-
creasing the concentration of the absorbing solute is the same
as that of increasing the thickness in the same ratio. In a
similar way the absorption of light in the coloured gas chlorine
is found to be unaltered if the thickness is reduced by compres-
sion, because the density is increased in the same ratio that the
thickness is reduced. This is not strictly the case, however,
for such gases and vapours as exhibit well-defined bands of
absorption in the spectrum, as these bands are altered in char-
acter by compression.

If white light is allowed to fall on some coloured solutions,
the transmitted light is of one colour when the thickness of the
solution is small, and of quite another colour if the thickness
is great. This curious phenomenon is known as achromatism
(from 5i-, two, and xpw/^a, colour). Thus, when a strong light is
viewed through a solution of chlorophyll, the light seen is a
brilliant green if the thickness is small, but a deep blood-red
for thicker layers. This effect can be explained as follows. The
solution is moderately transparent for a large number of rays

in the neighbourhood of the green part of the spectrum; it is,
on the whole, much more opaque for red rays, but is readily
penetrated by certain red rays belonging to a narrow region of
the spectrum. The small amount of red transmitted is at first
quite overpowered by the green, but having a smaller coefficient
of absorption, it becomes finally predominant. The effect is
complicated, in the case of chlorophyll and many other bodies,
by selective reflexion and fluorescence.

For the molecular theory of absorption, see Spectroscopy.

References. — A. Schuster's Theory of Optics (1904); P. K. L.
Drude's Theory of Optics (Eng. trans., 1902); F. H. Wtillner's
Lehrbuch der Experimentalphysik, Bd. iv. (1899). (J. R. C.)

ABSTEMII (a Latin word, from abs, away from, temetum, in-
toxicating liquor, from which is derived the English " abste-
mious " or temperate), a name formerly given to such persons
as could not partake of the cup of the Eucharist on account of
their natural aversion to wine. Calvinists allowed these to com-
municate in the species of bread only, touching the cup with
their lip; a course which was deemed a profanation by the *
Lutherans. Among several Protestant sects, both in Great
Britain and America, abstemii on a somewhat different principle
have appeared in modern times. These are total abstainers,
who maintain that the use of stimulants is essentially sinful,
and allege that the wine used by Christ and his disciples at the
supper was unfermented. They accordingly communicate in
the unfermented " juice of the grape."

ABSTINENCE (from Lat. abstinere, to abstain), the fact or
habit of refraining from anything, but usually from the indul-
gence of the appetite and especially from strong drink. " Total
abstinence " and " total abstainer" are associated with taking
the pledge to abstain from alcoholic liquor (see Temperance).
In the discipline of the Christian Church abstinence is the term
for a less severe form of Fasting (q.v.).

ABSTRACTION (Lat. abs and trahere), the process or result of
drawing away; that which is drawn away, separated or derived.
Thus the noun is used for a summary, compendium or epitome
of a larger work, the gist of which is given in a concentrated form.
Similarly an absent-minded man is said to be " abstracted,"
as paying no attention to the matter in hand. In philosophy
the word has several closely related technical senses. (1) In
formal logic it is applied to those terms which denote qualities,
attributes, circumstances, as opposed to concrete terms, the
names of things; thus "friend" is concrete, "friendship"
abstract. The term which expresses the connotation of a word
is therefore an abstract term, though it is probably not itself
connotative; adjectives are concrete, not abstract, e.g. " equal "
is concrete, " equality " abstract (cf. Aristotle's aphaeresis and
prosthesis). (2) The process of abstraction takes an important
place both in psychological and metaphysical speculation. The
psychologist finds among the earliest of his problems the question
as to the process from the perception of things seen and heard to
mental conceptions, which are ultimately distinct from immediate
perception (see Psychology). When the mind, beginning with
isolated individuals, groups them together in virtue of perceived
resemblances and arrives at a unity in plurality, the process by
which attention is diverted from individuals and concentrated
on a single inclusive concept (i.e. classification) is one of ab-
straction. All orderly thought and all increase of knowledge
depend partly on establishing a clear and accurate connexion
between particular things and general ideas, rules and principles.
The nature of the resultant concepts belongs to the great contro-
versy between Nominalism, Realism and Conceptualism. Meta-
physics, again, is concerned with the ultimate problems of matter
and spirit; it endeavours to go behind the phenomena of sense
and focus its attention on the fundamental truths which are the
only logical bases of natural science. This, again, is a process of
abstraction, the attainment of abstract ideas which, apart from
the concrete individuals, are conceived as having a substantive
existence. The final step in the process is the conception of the
Absolute (q.v.), which is abstract in the most complete sense.

Abstraction differs from Analysis, inasmuch as its object is
I to select a particular quality for consideration in itself as it is

7 8

ABSTRACT OF TITLE— ABU HANIFA

found in all the objects to which it belongs, whereas analysis
considers all the qualities which belong to a single object.
- "ABSTRACT OF TITLE, in English law, an epitome of the
various instruments and events under and in consequence of
which the vendor of an estate derives his title thereto. Such an
abstract is, upon the sale or mortgage of an estate, prepared
by some competent person for the purchaser or mortgagee, and
verified by his solicitor by a comparison with the original deeds.
(See Conveyancing.)

ABT, FRANZ (1810-1885), German composer, was born on
the 22nd of December 1810 at Eilenburg, Saxony, and died at
Wiesbaden on the 31st of March 1885. The best of his popular
songs have become part of the recognized art-folk-music of Ger-
many; his vocal works, solos, part-songs, &c, enjoyed an extra-
ordinary vogue all over Europe in the middle of the 19th century,
but in spite of their facile tunefulness have few qualities of last-
ing beauty. Abt was kapellmeister at Bernburg in 1841, at
Zurich in the same year and at Brunswick from 1852 to 1882,
when he retired to Wiesbaden:

ABU, a mountain of Central India, situated in 24 36' N. lat.
and 7 2 43' E. long., within the Rajputana state of Sirohi. It is
an isolated spur of the Aravalli range, being completely detached
from that chain by a narrow valley 7 miles across, in which
flows the western Banas. It rises from the surrounding plains
of Marwar like a precipitous granite island, its various peaks
ranging from 4000 to 5653 feet. The elevations and platforms of
the mountain are covered with elaborately sculptured shrines,
temples and tombs. ' On the top of the hill is a small round plat-
form containing a cavern, with a block of granite, bearing the
impression of the feet of Data-Bhrigu, an incarnation of Vishnu.
This is the chief place of pilgrimage for the Jains, Shrawaks and
Banians. The two principal temples are situated at Deulwara,
about the middle of the mountain, and five miles south-west of
Guru Sikra, the highest summit. They are built of white marble,
and are pre-eminent alike for their beauty and as typical speci-
mens of Jain architecture in India. The more modern of the
two was built by two brothers, rich merchants, between the years
1 197 and 1247, and for delicacy of carving and minute beauty of
detail stands almost unrivalled, even in this land of patient and
lavish labour. The other was built by another merchant prince,
Vimala Shah, apparently about a.d. 1032, and, although simpler
and bolder in style, is as elaborate as good taste would allow in
a purely architectural object. It is one of the oldest as well as
one of the most complete examples of Jain architecture known.
The principal object within the temple is a cell lighted only from
the door, containing a cross-legged seated figure of the god
Parswanath. The portico is composed of forty-eight pillars, the
whole enclosed in an oblong courtyard about 140 feet by 90 feet,
surrounded by a double colonnade of smaller pillars, forming
porticos to a range of fifty-five cells, which enclose it on all sides,
exactly as they do in a Buddhist monastery (vikdra). In this
temple, however, each cell, instead of being the residence of a
monk, is occupied by an image of Parswanath, and over the door,
or on the jambs of each, are sculptured scenes from the life of
the deity. The whole interior is magnificently ornamented.

Abu is now the summer residence of the governor-general's
agent for Rajputana, and a place of resort for Europeans in the
hot weather. It is 16 miles from the Abu road station of the
Rajputana railway. The annual mean temperature is about
70 , rising to 90 in April; but the heat is never oppressive.
The annual rainfall is about 68 -inches. The hills are laid out
with driving-roads and bridle-paths, and there is a beautiful little
lake. The chief buildings are a church, club, hospital and a
Lawrence asylum school for the children of British soldiers.

ABU-BEKR (573-634), the name (" Father of the virgin ")
of the first of the Mahommedan caliphs (see Caliph). He was
originally called Abd-el-Ka'ba (" servant of the temple "),
and received the name by which he is known historically in con-
sequence of the marriage of his virgin daughter Ayesha to
Mahomet. He was born at Mecca in the year a.d. 573, a
Koreishite of the tribe of Beni-Taim. Possessed of immense
wealth, which he had himself acquired in commerce, and held

in high esteem as a judge, an interpreter of dreams and a
depositary of the traditions of his race, his early accession to
Islamism was a fact of great importance. On his conversion he
assumed the name of Abd-Alla (servant of God). His own belief
in Mahomet and. his doctrines was so thorough as to procure
for him the title El Siddik (the faithful), and his success in
gaining converts was correspondingly great. In his personal
relationship to the prophet he showed the deepest veneration
and most unswerving devotion. When Mahomet fled from
Mecca, Abu-Bekr was his sole companion, and shared both his
hardships and his triumphs, remaining constantly with him
until the day of his death. During his last illness the prophet
indicated Abu-Bekr as his successor by desiring him to offer up
prayer for the" people. The choice was ratified by the chiefs of
the army, and ultimately confirmed, though Ali, Mahomet's son-
in-law, disputed it, asserting his own title to the dignity. After
a time Ali submitted, but the difference of opinion as to his
claims gave rise to the controversy which still divides the
followers of the prophet into the rival factions of Sunnites and
Shiites. Abu-Bekr had scarcely assumed his new position (632),
under the title Califet-Resul-Allah (successor of the prophet of
God), when he was called to suppress the revolt of the tribes
Hejaz and Nejd, of which the former rejected Islamism and
the latter refused to pay tribute. He encountered formidable
opposition from different quarters, but in every case he was
successful, the severest struggle being that with the impostor
Mosailima, who was finally defeated by Kbalid at the battle of
Akraba. Abu-Bekr's zeal for the spread of the new faith was
as conspicuous as that of its founder had been. When the
internal disorders had been repressed and Arabia completely
subdued, he directed his generals to foreign conquest. The
Irak of Persia was overcome by Khalid in a single campaign,
and there was also a successful expedition into Syria. After
the hard-won victory over Mosailima, Omar, fearing that the
sayings of the prophet would be entirely forgotten when those
who had listened to them had all been removed by death,
induced .Abu-Bekr to see to their preservation in a written
form. The record, when completed, was deposited with Hafsa,
daughter of Omar, and one of the wives of Mahomet. It was
held in great reverence by all Moslems, though it did not possess
canonical authority, and furnished most of the materials out of
which the Koran, as it now exists, was prepared. When the
authoritative version was completed all copies of Hafsa's record
were destroyed, in order to prevent possible disputes and divi-
sions. Abu-Bekr died on the 23rd of August 634. Shortly
before his death, which one tradition ascribes to poison, another
to natural causes, he indicated Omar as his successor, after the
manner Mahomet had observed in his own case.

ABU HAMED, a town of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan on the
right bank of the Nile, 345 m. by rail N. of Khartum. It stands
at the centre of the great S-shaped bend of the Nile, and from it
the railway to Wadi Haifa strikes straight across the Nubian
desert, a little west of the old caravan route to Korosko. A
branch railway, 138 m. long, from Abu Hamed goes down the
right bank of the Nile to Kareima in the Dongola mudiria. The
town is named after a celebrated sheikh buried here, by
whose tomb travellers crossing the desert used formerly to
deposit all superfluous goods, the sanctity of the saint's tomb
ensuring their safety.

ABC IJANlFA AN-NU'MiN IBN THABIT, Mahommedan
canon lawyer, was born at Kufa in a.h. 80 (a.d. 699) of non-
Arab and probably Persian parentage. Few events of his life
are known to us with any certainty. He was a silk-dealer and
a man of considerable means, so that he was able to give his
time to legal studies. He lectured at Kufa upon canon law
(fiqh) and was a consulting lawyer (mufti), but refused steadily
to take any public post. When al-Mansur, however, was build-
ing Bagdad (145-149) Abu Hanlfa -was one of the four over-
seers whom he appointed over the craftsmen (G. Le Strange,
Baghdad during the Abbasid Caliphate, p. 17). In A.H. 150
(a.d. 767) he died there under circumstances which are very
differently reported. A persistent but apparently later tradition

ABU KLEA— ABUL FAZL

asserts that he died in prison after severe beating, because he
refused to obey al-Manstir's command to act as a judge (cadi,
qddi). This was to avoid a responsibility for which he felt unfit
— a frequent attitude of more pious Moslems. Others say that
al-Mahdl, son of al-Mansur, actually constrained him to be a
judge and that he died a few days after. It'seems certain that
he did suffer imprisonment and beating for this reason, at the
hands of an earlier governor of Kufa under the Omayyads (Ibn
Qutaiba, Ma'arif, p. 248). Also that al-Mansur desired to make
him judge, but compromised upon his inspectorship of buildings
(so in Tabarl). A late story is that the judgeship was only
a pretext with al-Mansur, who considered him a partisan of the
'Alids and a helper with his wealth of Ibrahim ibn 'Abd Allah
in his insurrection at Kufa in 145 (Weil, Geschichte, ii. 53 ff.).

For many personal anecdotes see de Slane's transl. of Ibn
Khallikan in". 555 ff., iv. 272 ff. -For his place as a speculative
jurist in the history of canon law, see Mahommedan Law. He
was buried in eastern Bagdad, where his tomb still exists, one
of the few surviving sites from the time of al-Mansur, the founder.
(Le Strange 191 ff.)

See C. Brockelmann, Geschichte, i. 169 ff.; Nawawi's Biogr. Diet.
pp. 698-770; Ibn Hajar al-Haitami's Biography, publ. Cairo, a.h.
1304 ; legal bibliography under Mahommedan Law. (D. B. Ma.)

ABU KLEA, a halting-place for caravans in the Bayuda
Desert, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. It is on the road from Merawi
to Metemma and 20 m. N. of the Nile at the last-mentioned place.
Near this spot, on the 17th of January 1885, a British force
marching to the relief of General Gordon at Khartum was
attacked by the Mahdists, who were repulsed. On the 19th,
when the British force was nearer Metemma, the Mahdists re-
newed the attack, again unsuccessfully. Sir Herbert Stewart,
the commander of the British force, was mortally wounded on
the 19th, and among the killed on the 17th was Col. F. G.
Burnaby (see Egypt, Military Operations).

ABU-L-'ALA UL-MA'ARRl [Abii-l-'Ala Ahmad ibn 'Abdallah
ibn Sulaiman] (973-1057), Arabian poet and letter-writer, be-
longed to the South Arabian tribe Tanukh, a part of which had
migrated to Syria before the time of Islam. He was born in
973 at Ma'arrat un-Nu'man, a Syrian town nineteen hours'
journey south of Aleppo, to the governor of which it was subject
at that time. He lost his father while he was still an infant,
and at the age of four lost his eyesight owing to smallpox. This,
however, did not prevent him from attending the lectures of
the best teachers at Aleppo, Antioch and Tripoli. These teachers
were men of the first rank, who had been attracted to the court
of Saif-ud-Daula, and their teaching was well stored in the re-
markable memory of the pupil. At the age of twenty-one
Abu-l-'Ala returned to Ma'arra, where he received a pension of
thirty dinars yearly. In 1007 he visited Bagdad, where he was
admitted to the literary circles, recited in the salons, academies
and mosques, and made the acquaintance of men to whom he
addressed some of his letters later. In 1009 he returned to
Ma'arra, where he spent the rest of his life in teaching and
writing. During this period of scholarly quiet he developed
his characteristic advanced views on vegetarianism, cremation
of the dead and the desire for extinction after death.

Of his works the chief are two collections of his poetry and
two of his letters. The earlier poems up to 1029 are of the kind
usual at the time. Under the title of Saqt uz-Zand they have
been published in Bulaq (1869), Beirut (1884). and Cairo (1886).
The poems of the second collection, known as the Luzum ma lam
yalzam, or the Luzumiyyal, are written with the difficult rhyme
in two consonants instead of one, and contain the more original,
mature and somewhat pessimistic thoughts of the author on
mutability, virtue, death, &c. They have been published in
Bombay (1886) and Cairo (1889). The letters on various literary
and social subjects were published with commentary by Shain
Effendi in Beirut (1894), and with English translation, &c, by
Prof. D. S. Margoliouth in Oxford (1898). A second collection
of letters, known as the Risaiat ul-Ghufran, was summarized and
partially translated by R. A. Nicholson in the Journal of the Royal
Asiatic Society (1900, pp. 637 ff.; 1902, pp. 75 ff., 337 ff., 813 ft.).

Bibliography. — C. Rieu, De Abu-l-'Alae Poetae Arabici vita et
carminibus (Bonn, 1843); A. von Kremer, Vber die phttosophischen
Gedichte des Abu-l-'Ala (Vienna, 1888); cf. also the same writer's
articles in the Zeitschrift der deutschen morgenldndischen Gesellschaft
(vols, xxix., xxx., xxxi. and xxxviii.). For his life see the intro-
duction to D. S. Margoliouth's edition of the letters, supplemented
by the same writer's articles "Abu-l-'Ala al-Ma'arri's Correspond-
ence on Vegetarianism " in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society
(1902, pp. 289 ff.). (G. W. T.)

ABU-L-'ATAHIYA [Abu Ishaq Isma'il ibn Qasim al-'Anazi]
(748-828), Arabian poet, was born at 'Ain ut-Tamar in the
Hijaz near Medina. His ancestors were of the tribe of 'Anaza.
His youth was spent in Kufa, where he was engaged for some
time in selling pottery. Removing to Bagdad, he continued his
business there, but became famous for his verses, especially for
those addressed to 'Utba, a slave of the caliph al-Mahdl. His
affection was unrequited, although al-Mahdl, and after him
Harun al-Rashld, interceded for him. Having offended the
caliph, he was in prison for a short time. The latter part of his
life was more ascetic. He died in 828 in the reign of al-Ma'mun.
The poetry of AbG-l-'Atahiya is notable for its avoidance of the
artificiality almost universal in his days. The older poetry of
the desert had been constantly imitated up to this time, al-
though it was not natural to town life. Abu-l-'Atahiya was one
of the first to drop the old qasida (elegy) form. He was very
fluent and used many metres. He is also regarded as one of
the earliest philosophic poets of the Arabs. Much of his poetry
is concerned with the observation of common life and morality,
and at times is pessimistic. Naturally, under the circumstances,
he was strongly suspected of heresy.

His poems {Diwdn) with life from Arabian sources have been
published at the Jesuit Press in Beirut (1887, 2nd ed. 1888). On his
position in Arabic literature see W. Ahlwardt, Diwdn des Abu Nowas
(Greifswald, 1861), pp. 21 ff.; A. von Kremer, Cullur geschichte des
Orients (Wien, 1877), vol. ii. pp. 372 ff. (G. W. T.)

ABULFARAJ [Abu-1-Faraj 'All ibn ul-Husain ul-Isbahanl]
(897-967), Arabian scholar, was a member of the tribe of the
Quraish (Koreish) and a direct descendant of Marwan, the last
of the Omayyad caliphs. He was thus connected with the
Omayyad rulers in Spain, and seems to have kept up a corre-
spondence with them and to have sent them some of his works.
He was born in Ispahan, but spent his youth and made his
early studies in Bagdad. He became famous for his knowledge
of early Arabian antiquities. His later life was spent in various
parts of the Moslem world, in Aleppo with Saif-ud-Daula (to
whom he dedicated the Book of Songs), in Rai with the Buyid
vizier Ibn 'Abbad and elsewhere. In his last years he lost his
reason. In religion he was a Shiite. Although he wrote poetry,
also an anthology of verses on the monasteries of Mesopotamia
and Egypt, and a genealogical work, his fame rests upon his
Book of Songs (Kilab ul-Aghani), which gives an account of the
chief Arabian songs, ancient and modern, with the stories of the
composers and singers. It contains a mass of information as to
the life and customs of the early Arabs, and is the most valuable
authority we have for their pre-Islamic and early Moslem days.
A part of it was published by J. G. L. Kosegarten with Latin
translation (Greifswald, 1840). The text was published in 20
vols, at Bulaq in 1868. Vol. xxi. was edited by R. E. Briinnow
(Leyden, 1888). A volume of elaborate indices was edited by
I. Guidi (Leyden, 1900), and a missing fragment of the text was
published by J. Wellhausen in the Zeitschrift der deutschen morgen-
landischen Gesellschaft, vol. 50, pp. 146 ff.

For his life see M'G. de Slane s translation of Ibn Khallikan's
Biographical Dictionary, vol. ii. pp. 249 ff. (G. W. T.) •

ABUL FAZL, wazir and historiographer of the great Mogul
emperor, Akbar, was born in the year a.d. 1551. His career
as a minister of state, brilliant though it was, would probably
have been by this time forgotten but for the record he himself
has left of it in his celebrated history. The Akbar Nameh, or
Book of Akbar, as Abul Fazl's chief literary work, written in
Persian, is called, consists of two parts — the first being a com-
plete history of Akbar's reign and the second, entitled Ain-i-
Akbari, or Institutes of Akbar, being an account of the religious
and political constitution and administration of the empire.
The style is singularly elegant, and the contents of the second

ABULFEDA— ABU SIMBEL

part possess a unique and lasting interest. An excellent trans-
lation of the Ain by Francis Gladwin was published in Calcutta,
1 783-1 786. It was reprinted in London very inaccurately, and
copies of the original edition are now exceedingly rare and
correspondingly valuable. It was also translated by Professor
Blockmann in 1848. Abul Fazl died by the hand of an assassin,
while returning from a mission to the Deccan in 1602. The
murderer was instigated by Prince Selim, afterwards Jahangir,
who had become jealous of the minister's influence.

ABULFEDA [Abu-1-Fida' Isma'Il ibn 'AH 'Imad-ud-Dnl]
(1273-1331), Arabian historian and geographer, was born at
Damascus, whither his father Malik ul-Afdal, brother of the
prince of Hamah, had fled from the Mongols. He was a de-
scendant of Ayyub, the father of Saladin. In his boyhood he
devoted himself to the study of the Koran and the sciences,
but from his twelfth year was almost constantly engaged in
military expeditions, chiefly against the crusaders. In 1285
he was present at the assault of a stronghold of the knights of
St John, and he took part in the sieges of Tripoli, Acre and
Qal'at ar-Rum. In 1208 he entered the service of the Mameluke
Sultan Malik al-Nasir and after twelve years was invested by
him with the governorship of Hamah. In 13 12 he became
prince with the title Malik us-Salih, and in 1320 received the
hereditary rank of sultan with the title Malik ul-Mu'ayyad.
For more than twenty years altogether • he reigned in tran-
quillity and splendour, devoting himself to the duties of govern-
ment and to the composition of the works to which he is chiefly
indebted for his fame. He was a munificent patron of men of
letters, who came in large numbers to his court. He died in
1 33 1. His chief historical work in An Abridgment of the History
of the Human Race, in the form of annals extending from the
creation of the world to the year 1329 (Constantinople, 2 vols.
1869). Various translations of parts of it exist, the earliest
being a Latin rendering of the section relating to the Arabian
conquests in Sicily, by Dobelius, Arabic professor at Palermo,
in 16 10 (preserved in Mura tori's Rerum Italicarum Script ores,
vol. L). The section dealing with the pre-Islamitic period was
edited with Latin translation by H. O. Fleischer under the title
Abulfedae Hisloria Anle-Islamica (Leipzig, 1831). The part
dealing with the Mahommedan period was edited, also with
Latin translation, by J. J. Rciske as Annates Muslemici (5 vols.,
Copenhagen, 1789-1794). His Geography is, like much of the his-
tory, founded on the works of his predecessors, and so ultimately
on the work of Ptolemy. A long introduction on various geo-
graphical matters is followed by twenty-eight sections dealing
in tabular form with the chief towns of the world. After each
name are given the longitude, latitude, " climate," spelling, and
then observations generally taken from earlier authors. Parts
of the work were published and translated as early as 1650
(cf. Carl . Brockelmann's Geschichle der Arabischen Litleratur,
Berlin, 1902, vol. ii. pp. 44-46). The text of the whole was pub-
lished by M'G. de Slane and M. Reinaud (Paris, 1840), and a
French translation with introduction by M. Reinaud and
Stanislas Guyard (Paris, 1848-1883). (G. W. T.)

ABU-L-QASIM [Khalaf ibn 'Abbas uz-Zahrawi], Arabian
physician and surgeon, generally known in Europe as Abul-
casis, flourished in the tenth century at Cordova as physi-
cian to the caliph 'Abdur-Rahman III. (912-961). No details
of his life are known. A part of his compendium of medicine
was published in Latin in the 16th century as Liber theoricae
nee non praclicae Alsaharavii (Augsburg, 1519). His manual
of surgery was published at Venice in 1497, at Basel in 1541,
and at Oxford Abiclcasis de Chirurgia arabice el laline cura
Johannis Channing (2 vols. 1778).

For his other works see Carl Brockelmann, Geschichle der arabi-
schen Litleratur (Weimar, 1898), vol. i. pp. 239-240. (G. W. T.)

ABUNDANTIA ("Abundance"), a Roman goddess, the
personification of prosperity and good fortune. Modelled after
the Greek Demeter, she is practically identical with Copia,
Annona and similar goddesses. On the coins of the later Roman
emperors she is frequently represented holding a cornucopia,
from which she shakes her gifts, thereby at the same time in-

dicating the liberality of the emperor or empress. She may be
compared with Domina Abundia (Old Fr. Dame Habonde,
Notre Dame d'Abondance), whose name often occurs in poems
of the Middle Ages, a beneficent fairy, who brought plenty to
those whom she visited (Grimm, Teutonic Mythology, tr. 1880,
i. 286-287).

ABU NUWAS [Abu 'All Hal-asan ibn Hani'al-Hakaml] (c.
756-810), known as Abu Nuwas, Arabian poet, was born in al-
Ahwaz, probably about 756. His mother was a Persian, his
father a soldier, a native of Damascus. His studies were made
in Basra under Abu Zaid and Abu 'Ubaida (q.v.), and in
Kufa under Khalaf al-Ahmar. He is also said to have spent a
year with the Arabs in the desert to gain purity of language.
Settling in Bagdad he enjoyed the favour of Harun al-Rashld
and al-Amln, and died there probably about 810. The greater
part of his life was characterized by great licentiousness and
disregard of religion, but in his later days he became ascetic.
Abu Nuwas is recognized as the greatest poet of his time. His
mastery of language has led to extensive quotation of his verses
by Arabian scholars. Genial, cynical, immoral, he drew on all
the varied life of his time for the material of his poems. In his
wine-songs especially the manners of the upper classes of Bagdad
are revealed. He was one of the first to ridicule the set form of
the qasida (elegy) as unnatural, and has satirized this form in
several poems. See I. Goldziher, Abhandlungen zur Arabischen
Philologie (Leyden, 1896), i. pp. 145 ff. His poems were collected
by several Arabian editors. One such collection (the MS. of
which is now in Vienna) contains nearly 5000 verses grouped
under the ten headings: wine, hunting, praise, satire, love of
youths, love of women, obscenities, blame, elegies, renunciation
of the world. His collected poems (Diwan) have been published
in Cairo (i860) and in Beirut (1884). The wine-songs were
edited by W. Ahlwardt under the title Diwan des Abu Nowas.
1. Die Weinlieder (Greifswald, 1861). (G. W. T.)

ABU SIMBEL, or Ipsambul, the name of a group of temples of
Rameses II. (c. 1250 B.C.) in Nubia, on the left bank of the Nile,
56 m. by river S. of Korosko. They are hewn in the cliffs at the
riverside, at a point where the sandstone hills on the west reach
the Nile and form the southern boundary of a wider portion of
the generally barren valley. The temples are three in number.
The principal temple, probably the greatest and most imposing
of all rock-hewn monuments, was discovered by Burckhardt in
181 2 and opened by Belzoni in 1 817. (The front has been cleared
several times, most recently in 1892, but the sand is always
'pressing forward from the north end.) The hillside was recessed
to form the facade, backed against which four immense seated
colossi of the king, in pairs on either side of the entrance, rise
from a platform or forecourt reached from the river by a flight
of steps. The colossi are no less than 65 ft. in height, of nobly
placid design, and are accompanied by smaller figures of Rameses'
queen and their sons and daughters; behind and over them is
the cornice, with the dedication below in a line of huge hiero-
glyphs, and a long row of apes, standing in adoration of the
rising sun above. The temple is dedicated primarily to the solar
gods Amenre of Thebes and Raharakht of Heliopolis, the true
sun god; it is oriented to the east so that the rays of the sun in
the early morning penetrate the whole length of two great halls
to the innermost sanctuary and fall upon the central figures of
Amenre and Rameses, which are there enthroned with Ptah of
Memphis and Raharakht on either side. The interior of the
temple is decorated with coloured sculpture of fine workmanship
and in good preservation; the scenes are more than usually
interesting; some are of religious import (amongst them Ra-
meses as king making offerings to himself as god), others illus-
trate war in Syria, Libya and Ethiopia: another series depicts
the events of the famous battle with the Hittites and their allies
at Kadesh, in which Rameses saved the Egyptian camp and
army by his personal valour. Historical stelae of the same reign
are engraved inside and outside the temple; the most interest-
ing is that recording the marriage with a Hittite princess in the
34th year. Not the least important feature of the temple be-
longs to a later _ age, when some Greek, Carian and Phoenician

ABU TAMMAM— ABYDOS

soldiers of one of the kings named Psammetichus (apparently
Psammetichus II., 594-589 B.C.) inscribed their names upon the
two southern colossi, doubtless the only ones then clear of sand.
These graffiti are of the highest value for the early history of
the alphabet, and as proving the presence of Greek mercenaries
in the Egyptian armies of the period. The upper part of the
second colossus (from the south) has fallen; the third was re-
paired by Sethos II. not many years after the completion of the
temple. This great temple was wholly rock-cut, and is now
threatened by gradual ruin by sliding on the planes of stratifica-
tion. A small temple, immediately to the south of the first,
is believed to have had a built antechamber: it is the earliest
known example of a " birth chapel," such as was usually attached
to Ptolemaic temples for the accommodation of the divine
mother-consort and her son. The third and northernmost temple,
separated from the others by a ravine, is on a large scale; the
colossi of the facade are six in number and 33 ft. high, repre-
senting Rameses and his queen Nefrere, who dedicated the temple
to the goddess Hathor. The whole group forms a singular monu-
ment of Rameses' unbounded pride and self-glorification.

See Egypt; J. H. Breasted, Ancient Records, Egypt, vol. in.
pp. 124 et seq., esp. 212; "The Temples of Lower Nubia," in the
American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures, October
1906. (F. Ll. G.)

ABUTAMMAM [Habib ibn Aus] (807-846), Arabian poet, was,
like Buhturi, of the tribe of Tai (though some say he was the son
of a Christian apothecary named Thaddeus, and that his genea-
logy was forged). He was born in Jasim (Josem), a place to the
north-east of the Sea of Tiberias or near Manbij (Hierapolis).
He seems to have spent his youth in Homs, though, according
to one story, he was employed during his boyhood in selling
water in a mosque in Cairo. His first appearance as a poet
was in Egypt, but as he failed to make a living there he went to
Damascus and thence to Mosul. From this place he made a visit
to the governor of Armenia, who awarded him richly. After
833 he lived mostly in Bagdad, at the court of the caliph Mo'tasim.
From Bagdad he visited Khorassan, where he enjoyed the favour
of 'Abdallah ibn Tahir. About 845 he was in Ma'arrat un-
Nu'man, where he met Buhturi. He died in Mosul. Abu
Tammam is best known in literature as the compiler of the collec-
tion of early poems known as the Hamdsa (q.v.). Two other
collections of a similar nature are ascribed to him. His own poems
have been somewhat neglected owing to the success of his com-
pilations, but they enjoyed great repute in his lifetime, and were
distinguished for the purity of their style, the merit of the verse
and the excellent manner of treating subjects. His poems
(Diwan) were published in Cairo (a.d. 1875).

See Life in Ibn Khallikan's Biographical Dictionary, trans, by
M'G. de Slane (Paris and London, 1842), vol. i. pp. 348 ff. ; and in
the Kitab ul-Aghani (Book of Songs) of Abulfaraj (Bulaq, 1869),
vol. xv. pp. 100-108. (G.W. T.)

ABUTILON (from the Arabic aubutllun, a name given by
Avicenna to this or an allied genus), in botany, a genus of plants,
natural order Malvaceae (Mallows), containing about eighty
species, and widely distributed in the tropics. They are free-
growing shrubs with showy bell-shaped flowers, and are favourite
greenhouse plants. They may be grown outside in England
during the summer .months, but a few degrees of frost is fatal to
them. They are readily propagated from cuttings taken in the
spring or at the end of the summer. A large number of horti-
cultural varieties have been developed by hybridization, some
of which have a variegated foliage.

ABUTMENT, a construction in stone or brickwork designed
to receive and resist the lateral pressure of an arch, vault or strut.
When built outside a wall it is termed a buttress.

ABU UBAIDA [Ma'mar ibn ul-Muthanna] (728-825), Arabian
scholar, was born a slave of Jewish Persian parents in Basra,
and in his youth was a pupil of Abll'Amr ibn ul-'Ala. In 803
be was called to Bagdad by Harun al-Rashid. He died in Basra.
He was one of the most learned and authoritative scholars of
his, time in all matters pertaining to the Arabic language, anti-
quities and stories, and is constantly cited by later authors and
compilers. Jahiz held him to be the most learned scholar in all

branches of human knowledge, and Ibn Hisham accepted his
interpretation even of passages in the Koran. The titles of 105
of his works are mentioned in the Fihrist, and his Book of Days is
the basis of parts of the history of Ibn al-Athlr and of the Book
of Songs (see Abulfaraj) , but nothing of his (except a song) seems
to exist now in an independent form. He is often described as
a Kharijite. This, however, is true only in so far as he denied
the privileged position of the Arab people before God. He was,
however, a strong supporter of the Shu'ubite movement, i.e.
the movement which protested against the idea of the superi-
ority of the Arab race over all others. This is especially seen in
his satires on Arabs (which made him so hated that no man
followed his bier when he died). He delighted in showing that
words, fables, customs, &c, which the Arabs believed to be
peculiarly their own, were derived from the Persians. In these
matters he was the great rival of Asma'I {q.v.).

See Life in Ibn Khallikan's Biographical Dictionary, trans, by
M'G. de Slane (Paris and London, 1842), vol. iii. pp. 388-398; also
I. Goldziher's Muhammedanische Studien (Halle, 1888), vol. i. pp.
194-206. (G. W. T.)

ABYDOS, an ancient city of Mysia, in Asia Minor, situated
at Nagara Point on the Hellespont, which is here scarcely a mile
broad. It probably was originally a Thracian town, but was
afterwards colonized by Milesians. Here Xerxes crossed the
strait on his bridge of boats when he invaded Greece. Abydos
is celebrated for the vigorous resistance it made against Philip V.
of Macedon (200 B.C.), and is famed in story for the loves of Hero
and Leander. The town remained till late Byzantine times the
toll station of the Hellespont, its importance being transferred
to the Dardanelles (q.v.), after the building of the " Old Castles "
by Sultan Mahommed II. (c. 1456).

See Choiseul-Gouffier, Voyage dans I' empire ottoman (Paris, 1842).

ABYDOS, one of the most ancient cities of Upper Egypt, about
7 m. W. of the Nile in lat. 26 10' N. The Egyptian name was
Abdu, " the hill of the symbol or reliquary," in which the sacred
head of Osiris was preserved. Thence the Greeks named it Abydos,
like the city on the Hellespont; the modem Arabic name is
Arabet el Madfuneh. The history of the city begins in the late
prehistoric age, it having been founded by the pre-Menite kings
(Petrie, Abydos, ii. 64), whose town, temple and tombs have been
found there. The kings of the 1st dynasty, and some of the Hnd
dynasty, were also buried here, and the temple was renewed and
enlarged by them. Great forts were built on the desert behind
the town by three kings of the Hnd dynasty. The temple and
town continued to be rebuilt at intervals down to the times of
the XXXth dynasty, and the cemetery was used continuously.
In the Xllth dynasty a gigantic tomb was cut in the rock by
Senwosri (or Senusert) III. Seti I. in the XlXth dynasty founded
a great new temple to the south of the town in honour of the
ancestral kings of the early dynasties; this was finished by
Rameses (or Ramessu) II., who also built a lesser temple of his
own. Mineptah (Merenptah) added a great Hypogeum of Osiris
to the temple of Seti. The latest building was a new temple of
Nekhtnebf in the XXXth dynasty. From the Ptolemaic times
the place continued to decay and no later works are known
(Petrie, Abydos, i. and ii.).

The worship here was of the jackal god Upuaut (Ophois,
Wepwoi), who " opened the way " to the realm of the dead," in-
creasing from the 1st dynasty to the time of the Xllth dynasty
and then disappearing after the XVIIIth. Anher appears in the
Xlth dynasty; and Khentamenti, the god of the western Hades,
rises to importance in the middle kingdom and then vanishes
in the XVIIIth. The worship here of Osiris in his various forms
begins in the Xllth dynasty and becomes more important in
later times, so that at last the whole place was considered as
sacred to him (Abydos, ii. 47).

The temples successively built here on one site were nine or
ten in number, from the 1st dynasty, 5500 B.C. to the XXVIth
dynasty, 500 B.C. The first was an enclosure, about 30 X 50 ft.,
surrounded by a thin wall of unbaked bricks. Covering one wall
of this came the second temple of about 40 ft. square in a wall
about 10 ft. thick. An outer temenos (enclosure) wall surrounded
the ground. This outer wall was thickened about the Hnd or

ABYSS— ABYSSINIA

Illrd dynasty. The old temple entirely vanished in the IVth
dynasty, and a smaller building was erected behind it, enclosing
a wide hearth of black ashes. Pottery models of offerings are
found in the ashes, and these were probably the substitutes for
sacrifices decreed by Cheops (Khufu) in his temple reforms. A
great clearance of temple offerings was made now, or earlier,
and a chamber full of them has yielded the fine ivory carvings
and the glazed figures and tiles which show the splendid work
of the 1st dynasty. A vase of Menes with purple inlaid hiero-
glyphs in green glaze and the tiles with relief figures are the most
important pieces. The noble statuette of Cheops in ivory, found
in the stone chamber of the temple, gives the only portrait of
this greatest ruler. The temple was rebuilt entirely on a larger
scale by Pepi I. in the Vlth dynasty. He placed a great stone
gateway to the temenos, an outer temenos wall and gateway,
with a colonnade between the gates. His temple was about
40X50 ft. inside, with stone gateways front and back, showing
that it was of the processional type. In the Xlth dynasty
Menthotp (Mentuhotep) III. added a colonnade and altars.
Soon after, Sankhkere entirely rebuilt the temple, laving a stone
pavement over the area, about 45 ft. square, besides subsidiary
chambers. Soon after Senwosri (Senusert) I. in the XHth
dynasty laid massive foundations of stone over the pavement
of his predecessor. A great temenos was laid out enclosing
a much larger area, and the temple itself was about three times
the earlier size.

The XVIIIth dynasty began with a large chapel of Amasis
(Ahmosi, Aahmes) I., and then Tethmosis (Thothmes, Tahutmes)
III. built a far larger temple, about 130X200 ft. He made also
a processional way past the side of the temple to the cemetery
beyond, with a great gateway of granite. Rameses III. added
a large building; and Amasis II. in the XXVIth dynasty rebuilt
the temple again, and placed in it a large monolith shrine of red
granite, finely wrought. The foundations of the successive
temples were comprised within about 18 ft. depth of ruins;
these needed the closest examination to discriminate the various
buildings, and were recorded by over 4000 measurements and
1000 levellings (Petrie, Abydos, ii.).

The temple of Seti I. was built on entirely new ground half
a mile to the south of the long series of temples just described.
This is the building best known as the Great Temple of Abydos,
being nearly complete and an impressive sight. A principal
object of it was the adoration of the early kings, whose cemetery,
to which it forms a great funerary chapel, lies behind it. The
long list of the kings of the principal dynasties carved on a wall
is known as the " Table of Abydos." There were also seven
chapels for the worship of the king and principal gods. At the
back were large chambers connected with the Osiris worship
(Caulfield, Temple of the Kings) ; and probably from these led
out the great Hypogeum for the celebration of the Osiris mys-
teries, built by Mineptah (Murray, Osireion). The temple was
originally 550 ft. long, but the forecourts are scarcely recognizable,
and the part in good state is about 250 ft. long and 350 ft. wide,
including the wing at the side. Excepting the list of kings and
a panegyric on Rameses II., the subjects are not historical but
mythological. The work is celebrated for its delicacy and re-
finement, but lacks the life and character of that in earlier ages.
The sculptures have been mostly published in hand copy, not
facsimile, by Mariette in his Abydos, i. The adjacent temple of
Rameses II. was much smaller and simpler in plan; but it had
a fine historical series of scenes around the outside, of which
the lower parts remain. ' A list of kings, similar to that of Seti,
formerly stood here; but the fragments were removed by the
French consul and sold to the British Museum.

The Royal Tombs of the earliest dynasties were placed about
a mile back on the great desert plain. The earliest is about
10 X 20 ft. inside, a pit lined with brick walls, and originally roofed
with timber and matting. Others also before Menes are 15X25
ft. The tomb probably of Menes is of the latter size. After this
the tombs increase in size and complexity. The tomb-pit is
surrounded by chambers to hold the offerings, the actual
sepulchre being a great wooden chamber in the midst of the

brick-lined pit. Rows of small tomb-pits for the servants of
the king surround the royal chamber, many dozens of such
burials being usual. By the end of the Hnd dynasty the type
changed to a long passage bordered with chambers on either
hand, the royal burial being in the middle of the length. The
greatest of these tombs with its dependencies covered a space
of over 3000 square yards. The contents of the tombs have
been nearly destroyed by successive plunderers; enough- re-
mained to show that rich jewellery was placed on the mummies,
a profusion of vases of hard and valuable stones from the royal
table service stood about the body, the store-rooms were filled
with great jars of wine, perfumed ointment and other supplies,
and tablets of ivory and of ebony were engraved with a record
of the yearly annals of the reigns. The sealings of the various
officials, of which over 200 varieties have been found, give an
insight into the public arrangements (Petrie, Royal Tombs, i.
and ii.).

The cemetery of private persons begins in the 1st dynasty with
some pit tombs in the town. It was extensive in the XHth and
XIHth dynasties and contained many rich tombs. In the
XVIIIth-XXth dynasties a large number of fine tombs were
made, and later ages continued to bury here till Roman times.
Many hundred funeral steles were removed by Mariette's work-
men, without any record of the burials (Mariette, Abydos, ii. and
iii.). Later excavations have been recorded by Ayrton, Abydos,
iii.; Maclver, El Amrah and Abydos; and Garstang, El Arabah.

The forts lay behind the town. That known as Shunet ez
Zebib is about 450X250 ft. over all, and still stands 30 ft. high.
It was built by Khasekhemui, the last king of the Hnd dynasty.
Another, fort nearly as large adjoined it, and is probably rather
older. A third fort of a squarer form is now occupied by the
Coptic convent; its age cannot be ascertained (Ayrton, Abydos,
iii.). (W.M.F.P.)

ABYSS (Gr. d-, privative, /Sw<r6s, bottom), a bottomless
depth ; hence any deep place. From the late popular abyssimtis
(superlative of Low Latin abyssus) through the French abisme
(i.e. abtme) is derived the poetic form abysm, pronounced as late
as 1616 to rhyme with lime. The adjective " abyssal " or
" abysmal " has been used by zoologists to describe deep regions
of the sea; hence abysmal zone, abysmal flora and fauna, abys-
mal accumulations, the deposit on the abysmal bed of the ocean.
In heraldry, the abyss is the middle of an escutcheon. In the
Greek version of the Old Testament the word represents (1) the
original chaos (Gen. i. 2), (2) the Hebrew tehom (" a surging
water-deep "), which is used also in apocalyptic and kabba-
listic literature and in the New Testament for hell, the place of
punishment (cf. Eurip. Phoen. for the " yawning chasm of
Tartarus ") ; in the Revised (not the Authorized) version abyss
is generally used for this idea. Primarily in the Septuagint
cosmography the word is applied (a) to the waters under the
earth which originally covered it, and from which the springs
and rivers are supplied, (6) to the waters of the firmament which
were regarded as closely connected with those below. Deriva-
tively, from the general idea of depth, it acquired the meaning of
the place of the dead, though apparently never quite the same as
Sheol. In Revelation it is the prison of evil spirits whence they
may occasionally be let loose, and where Satan is doomed to
spend 1000 years. Beneath the altar in the temple of Jeru-
salem there was believed to be a passage which led down to the
abyss of the world, where the foundation-stone of the earth was
laid. In rabbinical cosmography the abyss is a region of
Gehenna situated below the ocean bed and divided into three or
seven parts imposed one above the other. In the Kabbalah the
abyss as the opening into the lower world is the abode of evil
spirits, and corresponds to the opening of the abyss to the world
above. In general the abyss is regarded vaguely as a place of
indefinite extent, the abode of mystery and sorrow.

See G. Schiaparelli, Astronomy in the Old Testament (Eng. trans.,
Oxford, 1905).

ABYSSINIA (officially Ethiopia), an inland country and
empire of N.E. Africa lying, chiefly, between 5 and 15 N.
and 35 and 42 E. It is bounded N. by Eritrea (Italian). W.

ABYSSINIA

fpBoijKiBfir 4 o° 1

Scale, 1:9,000,000

English Mites
100 150

Kilometres

200 300

UGANDA

PROTECTORATE

by the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, S. by British East Africa, S.E.
and E. by the British, Italian and French possessions in Somali-
land and on the Red Sea. The coast lands held by European
powers, which cut off Abyssinia from access to the sea, vary in
width from 40 to 250 miles. The country approaches nearest to
the ocean on its N.E. border, where the frontier is drawn about
40 m. from the coast of the Red Sea. Abyssinia is narrowest
in the north, being here 230 m. across from east to west. It
broadens out southward to a width of 900 m. along the line of
9° N., and resembles in shape a triangle with its apex to the north.
It is divided into Abyssinia proper (i.e. Tigre, Amhara, Gojam,
&c), Shoa, Kaffa and Galla land — all these form a geographical
unit — and central Somaliland with Harrar. To the S.W. Abys-
sinia also includes part of the low country of the Sobat tributary
of the Nile. The area of the whole state is about 350,000 sq. m.,
of which Abyssinian Somaliland covers fully a third.

(1) Physical Features. — Between the valley of the Upper Nile
and the low lands which skirt the south-western shores of the
Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden is a region of elevated plateaus
from which rise various mountain ranges. These tablelands
and mountains constitute Abyssinia, Shoa, Kaffa and Galla
land. On nearly every side the walls of the plateaus rise with
considerable abruptness from the plains, constituting outer
mountain chains. The Abyssinian highlands are thus a clearly
marked orographic division. From Ras Kasar (18 N.) to
Annesley Bay (15 N.) the eastern wall of the plateau runs
parallel to the Red Sea. It then turns due S. and follows closely
the line of 40 E. for some 400 m. About 9 N. there is a break
in the wall, through which the river Hawash flows eastward.
The main range at this point trends S.W., while south of the
Hawash valley, which is some 3000 ft. below the level of the
mountains, another massif rises in a direct line south. This

8 4

ABYSSINIA

second range sends a chain (the Harrar hills) eastward to the Gulf
of Aden. The two chief eastern ranges maintain a parallel course
S. by W., with a broad upland valley between — in which valley
are a series of lakes — to about 3 N, the outer (eastern) spurs
of the plateau still keeping along the line of 40 E. The southern
escarpment of the plateau is highly irregular, but has a general
direction N.W. and S.E. from 6° N. to 3 N. It overlooks the
depression in which is Lake Rudolf and — east of that lake —
southern Somaliland. The western wall of the plateau from 6°
N. to n° N. is well marked and precipitous. North of n° N.
the hills turn more to the east and fall more gradually to the
plains at their base. On its northern face also the plateau falls
in terraces to the level of the eastern Sudan. The eastern escarp-
ment is the best defined of these outer ranges. It has a mean
height of from 7000 to 8000 ft., and in many places rises almost
perpendicularly from the plain. Narrow and deep clefts,
through which descend mountain torrents to lose themselves in
the sandy soil of the coast land, afford means of reaching the
plateau, or the easier route through the Hawash valley may be
chosen. On surmounting this rocky barrier the traveller finds
that the encircling rampart rises little above the normal level
of the plateau.

(2) The aspect of the highlands is most impressive. The
northern portion, lying mainly between io° and 15° N., consists
of a huge mass of Archaean rocks with a mean height of from
7000 to 7500 ft. above the sea, and is flooded in a deep central
depression by the waters of Lake Tsana. Above the plateau
rise several irregular and generally ill-defined mountain ranges
which attain altitudes of from 12,000 to over 15,000 ft. Many
of the mountains are of weird and fantastic shape. Character-
istic of the country are the enormous fissures which divide it,
formed in the course of ages by the erosive action of water. They
are in fact the valleys of the rivers which, rising on the uplands
or mountain sides, have cut their way to the surrounding low-
lands. Some of the valleys are of considerable width; in other
cases the opposite walls of the gorges are but two or three
hundred yards apart, and fall almost vertically thousands of
feet, representing an erosion of hard rock of many millions of
cubic feet. One result of the action of the water has been
the formation of numerous isolated flat-topped hills or small
plateaus, known as ambas, with nearly perpendicular sides. The
highest peaks are found in the Simen (or Semien) and Gojam
ranges. The Simen Mountains lie N.E. of Lake Tsana and cul-
minate in the snow-covered peak of Daschan (Dajan), which
has an altitude of 15,160 ft. A few miles east and north re-
spectively of Dajan are Mounts Biuat and Abba Jared, whose
summits are a few feet only below that of Dajan. In the Chok
Mountains in Gojam Agsias Fatra attains a height of 13,600 ft.

Parallel with the eastern escarpment are the heights of Baila
(12,500 ft.), Abuna Josef (13,780 ft.), and Kollo (14,100 ft.), the
last-named being S.W. of Magdala. The valley between these
hills and the eastern escarpment is one of the longest and most
profound chasms in Abyssinia. Between Lake Tsana and the
eastern hills are Mounts Guna (13,800 ft.) and Uara Sahia
(13,000 ft.). The figures given are, however, approximate only.
The southern portion of the highlands — the io° N. roughly marks
the division between north and south — has more open tableland
than the northern portion and fewer lofty peaks. Though there
are a few heights between 10,000 and 12,000 ft., the majority do
not exceed 8000 ft. But the general character of the southern
regions is the same as in the north — a much-broken hilly
plateau.

Most of the Abyssinian uplands have a decided slope to the
north-west, so that nearly all the large rivers find their way in
that direction to the Nile. Such are the Takazz6 in the north,
the Abai in the centre, and the Sobat in the south, and through
these three arteries is discharged about four-fifths of the entire
drainage. The rest is carried off, almost due north by the Khor
Baraka, which occasionally reaches the Red Sea south of Suakin;
by the Hawash, which runs out in the saline lacustrine district
near the head of Tajura Bay; by the Webi Shebeli (Wabi-
Shebeyli) and Juba, which flow S.E. through Somaliland, though

the Shebeli fails to reach the Indian Ocean; and by the Omo,
the main feeder of the closed basin of Lake Rudolf.

The Takazze, which is the true upper course of the Atbara,
has its head-waters in the central tableland; and falls from
about 7000 to 2500 ft. in the tremendous crevasse through
which it sweeps round west, north and west again down to the
western terraces, where it passes from Abyssinian to Sudan
territory. During the rains the Takazze (i.e. the " Terrible ")
rises some 18 ft. above its normal level, and at this time forms
an impassable barrier between the northern and central provinces.
In its lower course the river is known by the Arab name Setit.
The Setit is joined (14 10' N., 36° E.) by the Atbara, a river
formed by several streams which rise in the mountains W. and
N.W. of Lake Tsana. The Gash or Mareb is the most northerly
of the Abyssinian rivers which flow towards the Nile valley.
Its head-waters rise on the landward side of the eastern escarp-
ment within 50 miles of Annesley Bay on the Red Sea. It
reaches the Sudan plains near Kassala, beyond which place its
waters are dissipated in the sandy soil. The Mareb is dry for a
great part of the year, but like the Takazze is subject to sudden
freshets during the rains. Only the left bank of the upper course
of the river is in Abyssinian territory, the Mareb here forming
the boundary between Eritrea and Abyssinia.

(3) The Abai — that is, the upper course of the Blue Nile —
has its source near Mount Denguiza in the Gojam highlands
(about ii° N. and 37 E.), and first flows for 70 m. nearly due
north to the south side of Lake Tsana. Tsana (q.v.), which
stands from 2500 to 3000 ft. below the normal level of the plateau,
has somewhat the aspect of a flooded crater. It has an area of
about 1 100 sq. m., and a depth in some parts of 250 ft. At the
south-east corner the rim of the crater is, as it were, breached
by a deep crevasse through which the Abai escapes, and here
develops a great semicircular bend like that of the Takazze, but
in the reverse direction — east, south and north-west — down to
the plains of Sennar, where it takes the name of Bahr-el-Azrak
or Blue Nile. The Abai has many tributaries. Of these the
Bashilo rises near Magdala and drains eastern Amhara; the
Jamma rises near Ankober and drains northern Shoa ; the Muger
rises near Adis Ababa and drains south-western Shoa; the
Didessa, the largest of the Abai's affluents, rises in the Kaffa
hills and has a generally S. to N. course; the Yabus runs near
the western edge of the plateau escarpment. All these are
perennial rivers. The right-hand tributaries, rising mostly on the
western sides of the plateau, have steep slopes and are generally
torrential in character. The Bolassa, however, is perennial,'
and the Rahad and Dinder are important rivers in flood-time.

In the mountains and plateaus of Kaffa and Galla in the
south-west of Abyssinia rise the Baro, Gelo, Akobo and other
of the chief affluents of the Sobat tributary of the Nile. The
Akobo, in about 7 50' N. and 33 E., joins the Pibor, which in
about 8j° N. and 33 20' E. unites with the Baro, the river below
the confluence taking the name of Sobat. These rivers descend
from the mountains in great falls, and like the other Abyssinian
streams are unnavigable in their upper courses. The Baro on
reaching the plain becomes, however, a navigable stream afford-
ing an open waterway to the Nile. The Baro, Pibor and Akobo
form for 250 m. the W. and S.W. frontiers of Abyssinia (see
Nile, Sobat and Sudan).

The chief river of Abyssinia flowing east is the Hawash
(Awash, Awasi), which rises in the Shoan uplands and makes a
semicircular bend first S.E. and then N.E. It reaches the Afar
(Danakil) lowlands through a broad breach in the eastern
escarpment of the plateau, beyond which it is joined on its left
bank by its chief affluent, the Germama (Kasam), and then
trends round in the direction of Tajura Bay. Here the Hawash
is a copious stream nearly 200 ft. wide and 4 ft. deep, even in
the dry season, and during the floods rising 50 or 60 ft. above
low-water mark, thus inundating the plains for many miles
along both its banks. Yet it fails to reach the coast, and after
a winding course of about 500 m. passes (in its lower reaches)
through a series of badds (lagoons) to Lake Aussa, some 60 or
70 m. from the head of Tajura Bay. In this lake the river is

ABYSSINIA

lost. This remarkable phenomenon is explained by the position
of Aussa in the centre of a saline lacustrine depression several
hundred feet below sea-level. While most of the other lagoons
are highly saline, with thick incrustations of salt round their
margins, Aussa remains fresh throughout the year, owing to
the great body of water discharged into it by the Hawash.

Another lacustrine region extends from the Shoa heights
south-west to the Samburu (Lake Rudolf) depression. In this
chain of lovely upland lakes, some fresh, some brackish, some
completely closed, others connected by short channels, the
chief links in their order from north to south are: — Zwai, com-
municating southwards with Hara and Lamina, all in the Arusi
Galla territory; then Abai with an outlet to a smaller tarn in
the romantic Baroda and Gamo districts, skirted on the west
sides by grassy slopes and wooded ranges from 6000 to nearly
9000 ft. high; lastly, in the Asille country, Lake Stefanie, the
Chuwaha of the natives, completely closed and falling to a level
of about 1800 ft. above the sea. To the same system obviously
belongs the neighbouring Lake Rudolf (q.v.), which is larger
than all the rest put together. This lake receives at its northern
end the waters of the Omo, which rises in the Shoa highlands
and is a perennial river with many affluents. In its course of
some 370 m. it has a total fall of about 6000 ft. (from 7600 at its
source to 1600 at lake-level), and is consequently a very rapid
stream, being broken by the Kokobi and other falls, and navi-
gable only for a short distance above its mouth. The chief rivers
of Somaliland (q.v.), the Webi Shebeli and the Juba (q.v.), have
their rise on the south-eastern slopes of the Abyssinian escarp-
ment, and the greater part of their course is through territory
belonging to Abyssinia. There are numerous hot springs in
Abyssinia, and earthquakes, though of no great severity, are not
uncommon.

(4) Geology. — The East African tableland is continued into
Abyssinia. Since the visit of W. T. Blanford in 1870 the geology
has received little attention from travellers. The following
formations are represented: —

Sedimentary and Metamorphic.
Recent. Coral, alluvium, sand.

Tertiary. (?) Limestones of Harrar.

Jurassic. Antalo Limestones.

Triassic (?). Adigrat Sandstones.

Archaean. Gneisses, schists, slaty rocks.

Igneous.
Recent. . Aden Volcanic Series.

Tertiary, Cretaceous (?). Magdala group.
Jurassic. Ashangi group.

Archaean. — The metamorphic rocks compose the main mass
of the tableland, and are exposed in every deep valley in Tigre
and along the valley of the Blue Nile. Mica schists form the
prevalent rocks. Hornblende schists also occur and a compact
felspathic rock in the Suris defile. The foliae of the schists
strike north and south.

Triassic (?). — In the region of Adigrat the metamorphic rocks
are invariably overlain by white and brown sandstones, un-
fossiliferous, and attaining a maximum thickness of 1000 feet.
They are overlain by the fossiliferous limestones of the Antalo
group. Around Chelga and Adigrat coal-bearing beds occur,
which Blanford suggests may be of the same age as the coal-
bearing strata of India. The Adigrat Sandstone possibly
represents some portion of the Karroo formation of South
Africa.

Jurassic. — The fossiliferous limestones of Antalo are generally
horizontal, but are in places much disturbed when interstratified
with trap rocks. The fossils are all characteristic Oolite forms
and include species of Hemicidaris, Pholadomya, Ceromya,
Trigonia and Alaria.

Igneous Rocks. — Above a height of 8000 ft. the country con-
sists of bedded traps belonging to two distinct and unconform-
able groups. The lower (Ashangi group) consists of basalts
and dolerites often amygdaloidal. Their relation to the Antalo

limestones is uncertain, but Blanford considers them to be not
later in age than the Oolite. The upper (Magdala group) con-
tains much trachytic rock of - considerable thickness, lying
perfectly horizontally, and giving rise to a series of terraced
ridges characteristic of central Abyssinia. They are inter-
bedded with unfossiliferous sandstones and shales. Of more
recent date (probably Tertiary) are some igneous rocks, rich in
alkalis, occurring in certain localities in southern Abyssinia.
Of still more recent date are the basalts and ashes west of
Massawa and around Annesley Bay and known as the Aden
Volcanic Series. With regard to the older igneous rocks, the
enormous amount they have suffered from denudation is a
prominent feature. They have been worn into deep and narrow
ravines, sometimes to a depth of 3000 to 4000 ft.

(5) Climate. — The climate of Abyssinia and its dependent
territories varies greatly. Somaliland and the Danakil lowlands
have a hot, dry climate producing semi-desert conditions; the
country in the lower basin of the Sobat is hot, swampy and
malarious. But over the greater part of Abyssinia as well as
the Galla highlands the climate is very healthy and temperate.
The country lies wholly within the tropics, but its nearness to
the equator is counterbalanced by the elevation of the land. In
the deep valleys of the Takazze and Abai, and generally in
places below 4000 ft., the conditions are tropical and fevers are
prevalent. On the uplands, however, the aif is cool and bracing
in summer, and in winter very bleak. The mean range of
temperature is between 6o° and 8o° F. On the higher moun-
tains the climate is Alpine in character. The atmosphere on
the plateaus is exceedingly clear, so that objects are easily
recognizable at great distances. In addition to the variation
in climate dependent on elevation, the year may be divided
into three seasons. Winter, or the cold season, lasts from
October to February, and is followed by a dry hot period, which
about the middle of June gives place to the rainy season. The
rain is heaviest in the Takazze basin in July and August. In
the more southern districts of Gojam and Wallega heavy rains
continue till the middle of September, and occasionally October
is a wet month. There are also spring and winter rains; indeed
rain often falls in every month of the year. But the rainy
season proper, caused by the south-west monsoon, lasts from
June to mid-September, and commencing in the north moves
southward. In the region of the Sobat sources the rains begin
earlier and last longer. The rainfall varies from about 30 in. a
year in Tigre and Amhara to over 40 in. in parts of Galla land.
The rainy season is of great importance not only to Abyssinia
but to the countries of the Nile valley, as the prosperity of the
eastern Sudan and Egypt is largely dependent upon the rain-
fall. A season of light rain may be sufficient for the needs
of Abyssinia, but there is little surplus water to find its way
to the Nile; and a shortness of rain means a low Nile, as
practically all the flood water of that river is derived from
the Abyssinian tributaries (see Nile).

(6) Flora and Fauna. — As in a day's journey the traveller may
pass from tropical to almost Alpine conditions of climate, so
great also is the range of the flora and fauna. In the valleys
and lowlands the vegetation is dense, but the general appearance
of the plateaus is of a comparatively bare country with trees
and bushes thinly scattered over it. The glens and ravines
on the hillside are often thickly wooded, and offer a delightful
contrast to the open downs. These conditions are particularly
characteristic of the northern regions; in the south the vegeta-
tion on the uplands is more luxuriant. Among the many varie-
ties of trees and plants found are the date palm, mimosa, wild
olive, giant sycamores, jumpers and laurels, the myrrh and
other gum trees (gnarled and stunted, these flourish most on
the eastern foothills), a magnificent pine (the Natal yellow pine,
which resists the attacks of the white ant), the fig, orange, lime,
pomegranate, peach, apricot, banana and other fruit trees;
the grape vine (rare), blackberry and raspberry; the cotton
and indigo plants, and occasionally the sugar cane. There are
in the south large forests of valuable timber trees; and the
coffee plant is indigenous in the Kaffa country, whence it takes

ABYSSINIA

its name. Many kinds of grasses and flowers abound. Large
areas are covered by the kussa, a hardy member of the rose
family, which grows from 8 to 10 ft. high and has abundant
pendent red blossoms. The flowers and the leaves of this plant
are highly prized for medicinal purposes. The fruit of the
kurarina, a tree found almost exclusively in Shoa, yields a black
grain highly esteemed as a spice. On the tableland a great
variety of grains and vegetables are cultivated. A fibrous
plant, known as the sanseviera, grows in a wild state in the
semi-desert regions of the north and south-east.

In addition to the domestic animals enumerated below
(§ 8) the fauna is very varied. Elephant and rhinoceros are
numerous in certain low-lying districts, especially in the Sobat
valley. The Abyssinian rhinoceros has two horns and its skin
has no folds. The hippopotamus and crocodile inhabit the
larger rivers flowing west, but are not found in the Hawash, in
which, however, otters of large size are plentiful. Lions abound
in the low countries and in Somaliland. In central Abyssinia
the lion is no longer found except occasionally in the river
valleys. Leopards, both spotted and black, are numerous and
often of great size; hyaenas are found everywhere and are hardy
and fierce; the lynx, wolf, wild dog and jackal are also common.
Boars and badgers are more rarely seen. The giraffe is found
in the western districts, the zebra and wild ass frequent the
lower plateaus and the rocky hills of the north. There are large
herds of buffalo and antelope, and gazelles of many varieties
and in great numbers are met with in most parts of the country.
Among the varieties are the greater and lesser kudu (both rather
rare); the duiker, gemsbuck, hartebeest, gerenuk (the most
common — it has long thin legs and a camel-like neck); klip-
springer, found on the high plateaus as well as in the lower dis-
tricts; and the dik-dik, the smallest of the antelopes, its weight
rarely exceeding io lb, common in the low countries and the
foothills. The civet is found in many parts of Abyssinia, but
chiefly in the Galla regions. Squirrels and hares are numerous,
as are several kinds of monkeys, notably the guereza, gelada,
guenon and dog-faced baboon. They range from the tropical
lowlands to heights of 10,000 ft.

Birds are very numerous, and many of them remarkable for
the beauty of their plumage. Great numbers of eagles, vultures,
hawks, bustards and other birds of prey are met with ; and
partridges, duck, teal, guinea-fowl, sand-grouse, curlews, wood-
cock, snipe, pigeons, thrushes and swallows are very plentiful.
A fine variety of ostrich is commonly found. Among the birds
prized for their plumage are the marabout, crane, heron, black-
bird, parrot, jay and humming-birds of extraordinary brilliance.
Among insects the most numerous and useful is the bee, honey
everywhere constituting an important part of the food of the
inhabitants. Of an opposite class is the locust. Serpents are
not numerous, but several species are poisonous. There are
thousands of varieties of butterflies and other insects.

(7) Provinces and Towns. — Politically, Abyssinia is divided into
provinces or kingdoms and dependent territories. The chief
provinces are TigrS, which occupies the N.E. of the country;
Amhara or Gondar, in the centre; Gojam, the district enclosed
by the great semicircular sweep of the Abai; and Shoa (q.v.),
which lies east of the Abai and south of Amhara. Besides these
ancient provinces and several others of smaller size, the empire
includes the Wallega region, lying S.W. of Gojam; the Harrar
province in the east; Kaffa (q.v.) and Galla land, S.W. and S.
of Shoa; and the central part of Somaliland.

With the exception of Harrar (q.v.), a city of Arab foundation,
there are no large towns in Abyssinia. Harrar is some 30 m.
S.E. of Dire Dawa, whence there is a railway (188 m. long) to
Jibuti on the Gulf of Aden. The absence of large towns in
Abyssinia proper is due to the provinces into which the country
is divided having been for centuries in a state of almost continual
warfare, and to the frequent change of the royal residences on
the exhaustion of fuel supplies. The earliest capital appears to
have been Axum (q.v.) in Tigre, where there are extensive
ruins. In the middle ages Gondar in Amhara became the capital
of the country and was so regarded up to the middle of the 19th

century. Since 1892 the capital has been Adis Ababa in the
kingdom of Shoa.

The other towns of Abyssinia worthy of mention may be
grouped according to their geographical position. None of
them has a permanent population exceeding 6000, but at several
large markets are held periodically. In Tigre there are Adowa
or Adua (17 m. E. by N. of Axum), Adigrat, Macalleand Antalo.
The three last-named places are on the high plateau near its
eastern escarpment and on the direct road south from Massawa
to Shoa. West of Adigrat is the monastery of Debra-Domo,
one of the most celebrated sanctuaries in Abyssinia.

In Amhara there are: — Magdala (q.v.), formerly the residence
of King Theodore, and the place of imprisonment of the British
captives in 1866. Debra-Tabor (" Mount Tabor "), the chief
royal residence during the reign of King John, occupies a strong
strategic position overlooking the fertile plains east of Lake
Tsana, at a height of about 8,620 ft. above the sea ; it has
a population of 3000, including the neighbouring station of
Samara, headquarters of the Protestant missionaries in the time
of King Theodore. Ambra-Mariam, a fortified. station midway
between Gondar and Debra-Tabor near the north-east side of
Lake Tsana, with a population of 3000; here is the famous
shrine and church dedicated to St Mary, whence the name of
the place, " Fort St Mary." Mahdera-Mariam (" Mary's Rest "),
for some time a royal residence, and an important market and
great place of pilgrimage, a few miles south-west of Debra-
Tabor; its two churches of the " Mother " and the " Son " are
held in great veneration by all Abyssinians; it has a permanent
population estimated at over 4000, Gallas and Amharas, the
former mostly Mahommedan. Sokota, one of the great central
markets, and capital of the province of Waag in Amhara, at
the converging point of several main trade routes; the market
is numerously attended, especially by dealers in the salt blocks
which come from Lake Alalbed. The following towns are in
Shoa: — Ankober, formerly the capital of the kingdom; Aliu-
Amba, east of Ankober on the trade route to the Gulf of Aden;
Debra-Berhan (Debra-Bernam) (" Mountain of Light "), once
a royal residence; LichS (Litche), one of the largest market
towns in southern Abyssinia. Lieka, the largest market in
Galla land, has direct communications with Gojam, Shoa and
other parts of the empire. Bonga, the commercial centre of
Kaffa, and Jiren, capital of the neighbouring province of Jimma,
are frequented by traders from all the surrounding provinces,
and also by foreign merchants from the seaports on the Gulf
of Aden. Apart from these market-places there are no settle-
ments of any size in southern Abyssinia.

Communications. — The 'Jibuti-Dire Dawa railway has been
mentioned above. The continuation of this railway to the capital
was begun in 1906 from the Adis Ababa end. There are few
roads in Abyssinia suitable for wheeled traffic. Transport is
usually carried on by mules, donkeys, pack-horses and (in the
lower regions) camels. From Dire Dawa to Harrar there is a
well-made carriage road, and from Harrar to Adis Ababa the
caravan track is kept in good order, the river Hawash being
spanned by an iron bridge. There is also a direct trade route
from Dire Dawa to the capital. Telegraph lines connect Adis
Ababa and several important towns in northern Abyssinia with
Massawa, Harrar and Jibuti. There is also a telephonic service,
the longest line being from Harrar to the capital.

(8) Agriculture. — The soil is exceedingly fertile, as is evident
from the fact that Egypt owes practically all its fertility to the
sediment carried into the Nile by its Abyssinian tributaries.
Agriculture is extensively followed, chiefly by the Gallas, the
indolence of the Abyssinians preventing them from being good
farmers. In the lower regions a wide variety of crops are grown
— among them maize, durra, wheat, barley, rye, leff, pease,
cotton and sugar-cane — and many kinds of fruit trees are culti-
vated. Teff is a kind of millet with grains about the size of an
ordinary pin-bead, of which is made the bread commonly eaten.
The low grounds also produce a grain, tocussa, from which black
bread is made. Besides these, certain oleaginous plants, the
suf, nuc and selite (there are no European equivalents for the

ABYSSINIA

native names), and the ground-nut are largely grown. The
castor bean grows wild, the green castor in the low, damp
regions, the red castor at medium altitudes. The kat plant, a
medicinal herb which has a tonic quality, is largely grown in the
Harrar province. On the higher plateaus the hardier cereals
only are cultivated. Here the chief crops are wheat, barley,
teff, peppers, vegetables of all kinds and coffee. Above 10,000
ft. the crops are confined practically to barley, oats, beans and
occasionally wheat.

Coffee is one of the most important products of the country,
and its original home is believed to be the Kaffa highlands. It
is cultivated in the S., S.E. and S.W. provinces, and to a less
extent in the central districts. Two qualities of coffee are
cultivated, one known as Abyssinian, the other as Harrar-
Mocha. The " Abyssinian " coffee is grown very extensively
throughout the southern highlands. Little attention is paid
to the crop, the berries being frequently gathered from the
ground, and consequently the coffee is of comparatively low
grade. " Harrar-Mocha " is of first-class quality. It is grown
in the highlands of Harrar, and cultivated with extreme care.
The raising of cotton received a considerable impetus in the
early years of the 20th century. The soil of the Hawash valley
proved particularly suitable for raising this crop. In the high
plateaus the planting of seeds begins in May, in the lower pla-
teaus and the plains in June, but in certain parts where the
summer is long and rain abundant sowing and reaping are going
on at the same time. Most regions yield two, many three crops
a year. The methods of culture are primitive, the plough
commonly used being a long pole with two vertical iron teeth
and a smaller pole at right angles to which oxen are attached.
This implement costs about four shillings. The ploughing is
done by the men, but women and girls do the reaping. . The
grain is usually trodden out by cattle and is often stored in clay-
lined pits. Land comparatively poor yields crops eight to ten-
fold the quantity sown; the major part of the land yields
twenty to thirtyfold. In the northern parts of the empire very
little land is left uncultivated. The hillsides are laid out in
terraces and carefully irrigated in the dry season, the channels
heing often two miles or more long. Of all the cereals barley
is the most widely grown. The average rate of pay to an agri-
cultural labourer is about threepence a day in addition to food,
which may cost another penny a day.

The Abyssinians keep a large number of domestic animals.
Among cattle the Sanga or Galla ox is the most common. The
bulls are usually kept for ploughing, the cow being preferred for
meat. Most of the cattle are of the zebu or hump-backed variety,
but there are also two breeds — one large, the other resembling
the Jersey cattle — which are straight-backed. The horns of
the zebu variety are sometimes four feet long. Sheep, of which
there are very large flocks, belong to the short and fat-tailed
variety. The majority are not wool-bearing, but in one district
a very small black sheep is raised for wool. The small mountain-
breed of sheep weigh no more than 20 to 30 lb apiece. Goats
are of both the long and short-haired varieties. The horns of the
large goats are often thirty inches in length and stand up straight
from the head. The goats from the Arusi Galla country have
fine silky hair which is sometimes sixteen inches long. The meat
of both sheep and goats is excellent; that of the latter is pre-
ferred by the natives. In 1904 the estimated number of sheep
and goats in the country was 20,000,000. Large quantities of
butter, generally rancid, are made from the milk of cows, goats
and sheep. > In the Leka province small black pigs are bred in
considerable numbers. The horses (very numerous) are small
but strong; they are generally about 14 hands in height. The
best breeds come from the Shoa uplands. The ass is also small
and strong; and the mule, bred in large numbers, is of excellent
quality, and both as a transport animal and as a mount is
preferred to the horse. The mule thrives in every condition of
climate, is fever-proof, travels over the most difficult mountain
passes with absolute security, and can carry with ease a load of
200 lb. The average height of a mule is 12^ hands. The
country is admirably adapted for stock-raising.

(9) Minerals. — In the south and south-west provinces placer
gold mines by the banks of watercourses are worked by Gallas
as an industry subsidiary to tending their flocks and fields. In
the Wallega district are veins of gold-bearing quartz, mined to a
certain extent. There are also gold mines in southern Shoa.
The annual output of gold is worth not less than £500,000. Only
a small proportion is exported. Besides gold, silver, iron, coal
and other minerals are found. Rock-salt is obtained from the
province of Tigre.

Trade and Currency. — Abyssinia being without seaports, the
external trade is through Massawa (Italian) in the north, Jibuti
(French), Zaila and Berbera (British) in the south, and for all
these ports Aden is a distributing centre. For Tigre and
Amhara products Massawa is the best port, for the rest of the
empire, Jibuti. For southern Abyssinia, Kaffa and Galla lands,
Harrar is the great entrepot, goods being forwarded thence to
Jibuti and the other Somaliland ports. There is also a con-
siderable trade with the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan through the
frontier towns of Rosaires and Gallabat. At the French and
British ports there is freedom of trade, but on goods for Abys-
sinia entering Massawa a discriminating tax is levied if they
are not imported from Italy.

The chief articles of export are coffee, skins, ivory, civet,
ostrich feathers, gum, pepper, kat plant (used by Moslems for
its stimulating properties), gold (in small quantities) and live
stock. The trade in skins is mainly with the United States
through Aden ; America also takes a large propoition of the
coffee exported. For live stock there is a good trade with
Madagascar. The chief imports are cotton goods, the yearly value
of this trade being fully £250,000; the sheetings are largely
American; the) remainder English and Indian. No other
article of import approaches cotton in importance, but a con-
siderable trade is done in arms and ammunition, rice, sugar,
flour and other foods, and a still larger trade in candles and
matches (from Sweden), oil, carpets (oriental and European),
hats and umbrellas. Commerce long remained in a backward
condition; but under the Emperor Menelek II. efforts were
made to develop the resources of the country, and in 1905 the
total volume of trade exceeded £1,000,000.

Until the end of the 19th century the usual currency was the
Maria Theresa dollar, bars of rock-salt and cartridges. In 1894
a new coinage was introduced, with the Menelek dollar or
talari, worth about two shillings, as the standard. This new
coinage gradually superseded the older currency. In 1905 the
Bank of Abyssinia, the first banking house in the country,
was founded, with its headquarters at Adis Ababa. The
bank, which was granted a monopoly of banking business in
the empire for fifty years, has a capital of £500,000, has the
power to issue notes, to mint the Abyssinian coinage, and
to engage in commercial operations. It was founded under
Egyptian law by the National Bank of Egypt, which insti-
tution had previously obtained a concession from the emperor
Menelek.

(10) Government. — The political institutions are of a feudal
character. Within their provinces the rases (princes) exercise
large powers. The emperor, styled negus negusti (king of kings),
is occasionally assisted by a council of rases. In October 1907
an imperial decree announced the . constitution of a cabinet on
European lines, ministers being appointed to the portfolios of
foreign affairs, war, commerce, justice and finance. The legal
system is said to be based on the Justinian code. From the
decisions of the judges there is a right of appeal to the emperor.
The chief judicial official is known as the affa-negus (breath of
the king). The Abyssinian church (q.v.) is presided over by an
abuna, or archbishop. The land is not held in fee simple, but is
subject to the control of the emperor or the church. Revenue
is derived from an ad valorem tax on all imports; the purchase
and sale of animals; from royalties on trading concessions, and
in other ways, including fees for the administration of justice.
Education, of a rudimentary character, is given by the clergy.
In 1907 a system of compulsory education " of all male children
over the age of 12 " was decreed. The education was to be state

ABYSSINIA

provided, Coptic teachers were brought from Egypt and school
buildings were erected.

The Abyssinian calendar is as follows: — The Abyssinian year
of 365 days (366 in leap-year) begins on the 1st of Maskarram,
which corresponds to about the 10th of September. The
months have thirty days each, and are thus named: Maskarram,
Tekemt, Hadar, Tahsas, Tarr, Yekatit, Magawit, Miaziah,
Genbot, Sanni, Hamle, Nas'hi. The remaining five days in the
year, termed Pagmen or Quaggimi (six in leap-year, the extra
day being named Kadis Yohannis), are put in at the end and
treated as holidays. Abyssinian reckoning is about seven years
eight months behind the Gregorian. Festivals, such as Easter,
fall a week later than in western Europe.

Army. — A small standing army is maintained in each province
of Abyssinia proper. Every able-bodied Abyssinian is expected
to join the army in case of need, and a force, well armed with
modern weapons, approaching 250,000 can be placed in the field.
The cavalry is chiefly composed of Galla horsemen. (F. R. C.)

Ethnology

(n) The population of the empire is estimated at from
3,500,000 to 5,000,000. The inhabitants consist mainly of the
Abyssinians, the Galla and the Somali (the two last-named
peoples are separately noticed). Of non-African races the most
numerous are Armenians, Indians, Jews and Greeks. There is
a small colony of British, French, Italians and Russians. The
following remarks apply solely to Abyssinia proper and its in-
habitants. It should be remembered that the term " Abys-
sinian " is purely geographical, and has little or no ethnical
significance; it is derived from the Arabic Habesh. "mixed,"
and was a derisive name applied by the Arabs to the hetero-
geneous inhabitants of the Abyssinian plateau.

Abyssinia appears to have been originally peopled by the
eastern branch of the Hamitic family, which has occupied this
region from the remotest times, and still constitutes the great
bulk of its inhabitants, though the higher classes are now strongly
Semitized; The prevailing colour in the central provinces
(Amhara, Gojam) is a deep brown, northwards (Tigre, Lasta) it
is a pale olive, and here even fair complexions are seen. South-
wards (Shoa, Kobbo, Amuru) a decided chocolate and almost
sooty black is the rule. Many of the people are distinctly
negroid, with big lips, small nose, broad at the base, and frizzly
or curly black hair. The negroid element in the population is
due chiefly to the number of negro women who have been im-
ported into the harems of the Abyssinians. The majority,
however, may be described as a mixed Hamito-Semitic people,
who are in general well formed and handsome, with straight and
regular features, lively eyes, hair long and straight or somewhat
curled and in colour dark olive, approaching to black. The
Galla, who came originally from the south, are not found in
many parts of the country, but predominate in the Wollo dis-
trict, between Shoa and Amhara. It is from the Galla that the
Abyssinian army is largely recruited, and, indeed, there are few
of the chiefs who have not an admixture of Galla blood in their
veins.

As regards language, several of the indigenous groups, such as
the Khamtas of Lasta, the Agau or Agaos of Agaumeder (" Agao
land ") and the Falashas (q.v.), the so-called " Jews " of Abys-
sinia, still speak rude dialects of the old Hamitic tongue. But
the official language and that of all the upper classes is of Semitic
origin, derived from the ancient Himyaritic, which is the most
archaic member of the Semitic linguistic family. Geez, as it is
called, was introduced with the first immigrants from Yemen,
and although no longer spoken is still studied as the liturgical
language of the Abyssinian Christians. Its literature consists
of numerous translations of Jewish, Greek and Arabic works,
besides a valuable version of the Bible. (See Ethiopia.) The
best modern representative of Geez is the Tigrina of Tigre and
Lasta, which is much purer but less cultivated than the Amharic
dialect, which is used in state documents, is current in the central
and southern provinces and is much affected by Hamitic ele-
ments. All are written in a peculiar syllabic script which, un-

like all other Semitic forms, runs from left to right, and is derived
from that of the Sabaeans and Minaeans, still extant in the
very old rock-inscriptions of south Arabia.

The hybridism of the Abyssinians is reflected in their political
and social institutions, and especially in their religious beliefs
and practices. On a seething mass of African heathendom,
already in early times affected by primitive Semitic ideas, was
suddenly imposed a form of Christianity which became the state
religion. While the various ethnical elements have been merged
in the composite Abyssinian nation, the primitive and more ad-
vanced religious ideas have nowhere been fused in a uniform
Christian system. Foreigners are often surprised at the strange
mixture of savagery and lofty notions in a Christian community
which, for instance, accounts accidental manslaughter as wilful
murder. Recourse is still had to dreams as a means of detecting
crime. A priest is summoned, and, if his prayers and curses fail,
a small boy is drugged, and " whatever person he dreams of is
fixed on as the criminal. ... If the boy does not dream of the
person whom the priest has determined on as the criminal, he
is kept under drugs until he does what is required of him " (Count
Gleichen, With the Mission to Menelik, chap, xvi., 1898).

The Abyssinian character reflects the country's history.
Murders and executions are frequent, yet cruelty is not a marked
feature of their character; and in war they seldom kill their
prisoners. When a man is convicted of murder, he is handed
over to the relatives of the deceased, who may either put him to
death or accept a ransom. When the murdered person has no
relatives, the priests take upon themselves the office of avengers.
The natural indolence of the people has been fostered by the
constant wars, which have discouraged peaceful occupations.
The soldiers live by plunder, the monks by alms. The haughtiest
Abyssinian is not above begging, excusing himself with the
remark, " God has given us speech for the purpose of begging."
The Abyssinians are vain and selfish, irritable but easily ap-
peased; and are an intelligent bright people, fond of gaiety.
On every festive occasion, as a saint's day, birth, marriage, &c,
it is customary for a rich man to collect his friends and neigh-
bours, and kill a cow and one or two sheep. The principal parts
of the cow are eaten raw while yet warm and quivering, the re-
mainder being cut into small pieces and cooked with the favour-
ite sauce of butter and red pepper paste. The raw meat eaten in
this way is considered to be very superior in taste and much
more tender than when cold. The statement by James Bruce
respecting the cutting of steaks from a live cow has frequently
been called in question, but there can be no doubt that Bruce
actually saw what he narrates. Mutton and goat's flesh are the
meats most eaten: pork is avoided on religious grounds, and
the hare is never touched, possibly, as in other countries, from
superstition. Many forms of game are forbidden; for example,
all water-fowl. The principal drinks are tnese, a kind of
mead, and bousa, a sort of beer made from fermented cakes.
The Abyssinians are heavy eaters and drinkers, and any occasion
is seized as an excuse for a carouse. Old and young, of both
sexes, pass days and nights in these symposia, at which special
customs and rules prevail. Little bread is eaten, the Abyssinian
preferring a thin cake of durra meal or teff, kneaded with water
and exposed to the sun till the dough begins to rise, when it is
baked. Salt is a luxury; " he eats salt " being said of a spend-
thrift. Bars of rock-salt, after serving as coins, are, when
broken up, used as food. There is a general looseness of morals:
marriage is a very slight tie, which can be dissolved at any time
by either husband or wife. Polygamy is by no means uncommon.
Hence there is little family affection, and what exists is only
between children of the same father and mother. Children of
the same father, but of different mothers, are said to be " always
enemies to each other." (Samuel Gobat's Journal of a Three
Years' Residence in Abyssinia, 1834.)

The dress of the Abyssinians is much like that of the Arabs.
It consists of close-fitting drawers reaching below the knees,
with a sash to hold them, and a large white robe. The Abys-
sinian, however, is beginning to adopt European clothes on the
upper part of the body, and European hats are becoming common.

ABYSSINIA

The Christian Abyssinians usually go barehead and barefoot, in
contrast to the Mahommedans, who wear turbans and leather
sandals. The women's 'dress is a smock with sleeves loose to
the wrist, where they fit tightly. The priests wear a white jacket
with loose sleeves, a head-cloth like a turban and a special type
of shoe with turned-up toes and soles projecting at the heel.
In the Woldeba district hermits dress in ochre-yellow cloths,
while the priests of some sects wear hides dyed red. Clothes
are made of cotton, though the nobles and great people wear
silk robes presented by the emperor as a mark of honour. The
possessor of one of these is allowed to appear in the royal presence
wearing it instead of having one shoulder bared, as is the usual
Abyssinian method of showing respect. A high-born man covers
himself to the mouth in the presence of inferiors. The men
either cut their hair short or plait it; married women plait
their hair and wind round the head a black or parti-coloured silk
handkerchief; girls wear their hair short. In the hot season no
Abyssinian goes without a flag-shaped fan of plaited rushes.
The Christian Abyssinians, men and women, wear a blue silk
cord round the neck, to which is often attached a crucifix. For
ornament women wear silver ankle-rings with bells, silver neck-
laces and silver or gold rosettes in the ears. Silver rings on
fingers and also on toes are common. The women are very fond
of strong scents, which are generally oils imported from India
and Ceylon. The men scarcely ever appear without a long
curved knife, generally they carry shield and spear as well.
Although the army has been equipped with modern rifles, the
common weapon of the people is the matchlock, and slings are
still in use. The original arms were a sickle-shaped sword,
spear and shield. The Abyssinians are great hunters and are
also clever at taming wild beasts. The nobles hunt antelopes
with leopards, and giraffes and ostriches with horse and grey-
hound. In elephant-hunting iron bullets weighing a quarter of
a pound are used; thro wing-clubs are employed for small game,
and lions are hunted with the spear. Lion skins belong to the,
emperor, but the slayer keeps a strip to decorate his shield.

Stone and mortar are used in building, but the Abyssinian
houses are of the roughest kind, being usually circular huts, ill
made and thatched with grass. These huts are sometimes made
simply of straw and are surrounded by high thorn hedges, but,
in the north, square houses, built in stories, flat-roofed, the roof
sometimes laid at the same slope as the hillside, and some with
pitched thatched roofs, are common. The inside walls are
plastered with cow-dung, clay and finely chopped straw. None
of the houses have chimneys, and smoke soon colours the in-
terior a dark brown. Generally the houses are filthy and
ill ventilated and swarm with vermin. Drainage and sanitary
arrangements do not exist. The caves of the highlands are often
used as dwellings. The most remarkable buildings in Abyssinia
are certain churches hewn out of the solid rock. The chief
native industries are leather-work, embroidery and filigree
metal-work; and the weaving of straw mats and baskets is
extensively practised. The baskets are particularly well made,
and are frequently used to contain milk.

Abyssinian art is crude and is mainly reserved for rough
frescoes in the churches. These frescoes, however, often exhibit
considerable skill, and are indicative of the lively imagination
of their painters. They are in the Byzantine style and the colour-
ing is gaudy. Saints and good people are always depicted full
face, the devil and all bad folk are shown in profile. Among the
finest frescoes are those in the church of the Holy Trinity at
Adowa and those in the church at Kwarata, on the shores of
Lake Tsana. The churches are usually circular in form, the
walls of stone, the roof thatched.

The chief musical instruments are rough types of trumpets
and flutes, drums, tambourines and cymbals, and quadrangular
harps.

History

(12) Abyssinia, or at least the northern portion of it, was
included in the tract of country known to the ancients as
Ethiopia, the northern limits of which reached at one time

to about Syene. The connexion between Egypt and Ethiopia
was in early times very intimate, and occasionally the two coun-
tries were under the same ruler, so that the arts and civilization
of the one naturally found their way into the other. In early
times, too, the Hebrews had commercial intercourse with the
Ethiopians; and according to Abyssinian tradition the queen
of Sheba who visited Solomon was a monarch of their country,
and from their son Menelek the kings of Abyssinia claim descent.
During the Captivity many of the Jews settled here and brought
with them a knowledge of the Jewish religion. Under the
Ptolemies, the arts as well as the enterprise of the Greeks entered
Ethiopia, and led to the establishment of Greek colonies. A
Greek inscription at Adulis, no longer extant, but copied by
Cosmas of Alexandria, and preserved in his Topographia Chris-
liana, records that Ptolemy Euergetes, the third of the Greek
dynasty in Egypt, invaded the countries on both sides of the
Red Sea, and having reduced most of the provinces of Tigre to
subjection, returned to the port of Adulis, and there offered
sacrifices to Jupiter, Mars and Neptune. Another inscription,
not so ancient, found at Axum, states that Aizanas, king of
the Axumites, the Homerites, &c, conquered the nation of the
Bogos, and returned thanks to his father, the god Mars, for his
victory. Out of these Greek colonies appears to have arisen
the kingdom of Auxume which flourished from the 1st to the
7th century a.d. and was at one time nearly coextensive with
Abyssinia proper. The capital Auxume and the seaport Adulis
were then the chief centres of the trade with the interior
of Africa in gold dust, ivory, leather, aromatics, &c. At Axum,
the site of the ancient capital, many vestiges of its former great-
ness still exist; and the ruins of Adulis, which was once a sea-
port on the bay of Annesley, are now about 4 m. from the shore
(see Ethiopia, The Axumile Kingdom).

(13) Christianity was introduced into the country by Fru-
mentius (q.v.), who was consecrated first bishop of Ethiopia by
St Athanasius of Alexandria about a.d. 330. From ,_ < „ rf .„
the scanty evidence available it would appear that tion of
the new religion at first made little progress, and the Christi-
Axumite kings seem to have been among the latest ' nlt r-
converts. Towards the close of the 5th century a great company
of monks are believed to have established themselves in the
country. Since that time monachism has been a power among
the people and not without its influence on the. course of events.
In the early part of the 6th century the king of the Homerites,
on the opposite coast of the Red Sea, having persecuted the
Christians, the emperor Justinian I. requested the king of
Auxume, Caleb or El-Esbaha, to avenge their cause. He ac-
cordingly collected an army, crossed over into Arabia, and con-
quered Yemen (c. 525), which remained subject to Ethiopia for
about fifty years. This was the most flourishing period in the
annals of the country. The Ethiopians possessed the richest
part of Arabia, carried on a large trade, which extended as far
as India and Ceylon, and were in constant communication with
the Greek empire. Their expulsion from Arabia, followed by
the conquest of Egypt by the Mahommedans in the middle of
the 7th century, changed this state of affairs, and the continued
advances of the followers of the Prophet at length cut them
off from almost every means of communication with the civilized
world; so that, as Gibbon says, " encompassed by the enemies
of their religion, the Ethiopians slept for near a thousand years,
forgetful of the world by whom they were forgotten." About
a.d. 1000, a Jewish princess, Judith, conceived the design of
murdering all the members of the royal family, and of establish-
ing herself in their stead. During the execution of this project,
the infant king was carried off by some faithful adherents, and
conveyed to Shoa, where his authority was acknowledged, while
Judith reigned for forty years over the rest of the kingdom, and
transmitted the crown to her descendants. In 1 268 the kingdom
was restored to the royal house in the person of Yekuno Amlak.

(14) Towards the close of the 15th century the Portuguese
missions into Abyssinia began. A belief had long prevailed
in Europe of the existence of a Christian kingdom in the far
east, whose monarch was known as Prester John, and various

9°

ABYSSINIA

expeditions had been sent in quest of it. Among others who
had engaged in this search was Pedro de Covilham, who

arrived in Abyssinia in 1490, and, believing that he
guese had at length reached the far-famed kingdom, presented
Influence, to the negus, or emperor of the country, a letter from his

master the king of Portugal, addressed to Prester John.
Covilham remained in the country, but in 1507 an Armenian
named Matthew was sent by the negus to the king of Portugal
to request his aid against the Mahommedans. In 1520 a
Portuguese fleet, with Matthew on board, entered the Red Sea
in compliance with this request, and an embassy from the fleet
visited the negus, Lebna Dengel Dawit (David) II., and remained
in Abyssinia for about six years. One of this embassy was Father
Francisco Alvarez, from whom we have the earliest and not the
least interesting account of the country. Between 1528 and 1 540
armies of Mahommedans, under the renowned general Mahommed
Gran (or Granye, probably a Somali or a Galla) , entered Abyssinia
from the low country to the south-east, and overran the kingdom,
obliging the emperor to take refuge in the mountain fastnesses.
In this extremity recourse was again had to the Portuguese.
John Bermudez, a subordinate member of the mission of 1520,
who had remained in the country after the departure of the
embassy, was, according to his own statement (which is untrust-
worthy), ordained successor to the abuna (archbishop), and sent
to Lisbon. Bermudez certainly came to Europe, but with what
credentials is not known. Be that as it may, a Portuguese
fleet, under the command of Stephen da Gama, was sent from
India and arrived at Massawa in February 1541. Here he
received an ambassador from the negus beseeching him to send
help against the Moslems, and in the July following a force of
450 musqueteers, under the command of Christopher da Gama,
younger brother of the admiral, marched into the interior, and
being joined by native troops were at first successful against the
enemy; but they were subsequently defeated, and their com-
mander taken prisoner and put to death (August 1542). On
the 21st of February 1543, however, Mahommed Granye 1 was
shot in an engagement and his forces totally routed. After
this, quarrels arose between the negus and Bermudez, who had
returned to Abyssinia with Christopher da Gama and who now
wished the emperor publicly to profess himself a convert to
Rome. This the negus refused to do, and at length Bermudez
was obliged to make his way out of the country. The Jesuits
who had accompanied or followed the da Gama expedition into
Abyssinia, and fixed their headquarters at Fremona (near Adowa) ,
were oppressed and neglected, but not actually expelled. In
the beginning of the 17 th century Father Pedro Paez arrived at
Fremona, a man of great tact and judgment, who soon rose into
high favour at court, and gained over the emperor to his faith.
He directed the erection of churches, palaces and bridges in
different parts of the country, and carried out many useful
works. His successor Mendez was a man of much less concili-
atory manners, and the feelings of the people became strongly
excited against the intruders, till at length, on the death of the
negus Sysenius, Socinius or Seged I., and the accession of his
son Fasilidas in 1633, they were all sent out of the country,

after having had a footing there for nearly a century
Poacet an d a half. The French physician C. J. Poncet, who
and Bruce, went there in 1608, via Sennar and the Blue Nile, was

the only European that afterwards visited the country
before Bruce in 1769. James Bruce's main object was to dis-
cover the sources of the Nile, which he was convinced lay in
Abyssinia. Accordingly, leaving Massawa in September 1769,
he travelled via Axum to Gondar, where he was well received
by King Tekla Haimanot II. He accompanied the king on a
warlike expedition round Lake Tsana, moving S. round the
eastern shore, crossing the genuine Blue Nile (Abai) close to its
point of issue from the lake and returning via the western shore.
On a second expedition of his own he proved to his own satis-
faction that the river originated some 40 miles S.W. of the lake
at a place called Geesh (4th of November 1770). He showed
that this river flowed into the lake, and left it by its now well-
known outlet. Bruce subsequently returned to Egypt (end of

1772) via Gondar, the upper Atbara, Sennar, the Nile and the
Korosko desert (see Bruce, James).

(15) In order to attain a clear view of native Abyssinian
history, as distinct from the visits and influence of Europeans,
it must be borne in mind that during the last three
hundred years, and indeed for a longer period, for thene°gus'
the old chroniclers may be trusted to have given a negusti.
somewhat distorted view of the importance of the
particular chieftains with whom they came in contact, the coun-
try has been merely a conglomeration of provinces and districts,
ill defined, loosely connected and generally at war with each
other. Of these the chief provinces have been Tigre (northern),
Amhara (central) and Shoa (southern). The seat of government,
or rather of overlordship, has usually been in Amhara, the ruler
of which, calling himself negus negusti (king of kings, or em-
peror), has exacted tribute, when he could, from the other
provinces. The title of negus negusti has been to a considerable
extent based on the blood in the veins of the claimant. All the
emperors have based their claims on their direct descent from
Solomon and the queen of Sheba; but it is needless to say that
in many, if not in most, cases their success has been due more
to the force of their arms than to the purity of their lineage.
Some of the rulers of the larger provinces have at times been
given, or have given themselves, the title of negus or king, so
that on occasion as many as three, or even more, neguses have
been reigning at the same time; and this must be borne in mind
by the student of Abyssinian history in order to avoid confusion
of rulers. The whole history of the country is in fact one gloomy
record of internecine wars, barbaric deeds and unstable govern-
ments, of adventurers usurping thrones, only to be themselves
unseated, and of raids, rapine and pillage. Into this chaos
enter from time to time broad rays of sunshine, the efforts of a
few enlightened monarchs to evolve order from disorder, and to
supply to their people the blessings of peace and civilization.
Bearing these matters in mind, we find that during the 18th
century the most prominent and beneficent rulers were the
emperor Yesu of Gondar, who died about 1720, Sebastie, negus
of Shoa (1703-1718), Amada Yesus of Shoa, who extended bis
kingdom and founded Ankober (1743-1774), Tekla Giorgis of
Amhara (1770-1798?) and Asfa Nasscn of Shoa (1774-1807), the
latter being especially renowned as a wise and benevolent
monarch. The first years of the 19th century were disturbed by
fierce campaigns between Guxa, ras of Gondar, and Wolda
Selassie, ras of Tigre, who were both striving for the crown of
Guxa's master, the emperor Eguala Izeion. Wolda Selassie
was eventually the victor, and practically ruled the whole
country till his death in 1816 at the age of eighty.

(16) Mention must here be made of the first British mission,
under Lord Valentia and Mr Henry Salt, which was sent in
1805 to conclude an alliance with Abyssinia, and Brlttsh
obtain a port on the Red Sea in case France secured mission
Egypt by dividing up the Turkish empire with Russia, and mis-
This mission was succeeded by many travellers, slo ° ar y
missionaries and merchants of all countries, and the

stream of Europeans continued until well into Theodore's reign.
For convenience' sake we insert at this point a partial list, of mis-
sionaries and others who visited the country during the second
third of the 19th century — merely calling attention to the fact
that their visits were distributed over widely different parts of
the country, ruled by distinct lines of monarchs or governors.
In 1830 Protestant missionary enterprise was begun by Samuel
Gobat and Christian Kugler, who were sent out hy the Church
Missionary Society, and were well received by the ras of Tigre.
Mr Kugler died soon after his arrival, and his place was subse-
quently supplied by Mr C. W. Isenberg, who was followed by
Dr Ludwig Krapf, the discoverer of Mount Kenya, and others.
Mr (afterwlrds Bishop) Gobat proceeded to Gondar, where he
also met with a favourable reception.' In 1833 he returned to
Europe, and published a journal of his residence in Abyssinia.
In 1834 Gobat went back to Tigr6, but in 1836 ill health
compelled him to leave. In 1838 other missionaries were
obliged to leave the country, owing to the opposition of the native

ABYSSINIA

9 1

priests. Messrs Isenberg and*Krapf went south, and established
themselves at Shoa. The former soon after returned to England,
but Mr Krapf remained in Shoa till March 1842, when he re-
moved to Mombasa. Dr E. Ruppell, the German naturalist,
visited the country in 1831, and remained nearly two years.
M. E. Combes and M. Tamisier arrived at Massawa in 1835,
and visited districts which had not been traversed by Europeans
since the time of the Portuguese. One who did much at the time
to extend our geographical knowledge of the country was Dr
C. T. Beke (?.».), who was there from 1840 to 1843. Mr Mansfield
Parkyns was there from 1843 to 1846, and wrote the most inter-
esting book on the country since the time of Bruce. Bishop
Gobat having conceived the idea of sending lay missionaries
into the country, who would engage in secular occupations as
well as carry on missionary work, Dr Krapf returned to Abys-
sinia in 1855 with Mr Flad as pioneers of that mission; Krapf,
however, was not permitted to remain in the country. Six lay
workers came out at first, and they were subsequently joined by
others. Their secular work, however, appears to have been
more valuable to Theodore than their preaching, so that he
employed them as workmen to himself, and established them
at Gaffat, near his capital. Mr Stern arrived in Abyssinia in
i860, and after a visit to Europe returned in 1863, accompanied
by Mr and Mrs Rosenthal. 1

(17) Wolda Selassie of Tigre was succeeded in 1817, through
force of arms, by Sabagadis of Agame, and the latter, as ras of
Rivalry of Tigre, introduced various Englishmen, whom he much
British admired, into the country. He increased the pros-
and French per ity f his land considerably, but by so doing
tactons. rouse( j the jealousy of Ras Marie of Amhara — to
whom he had refused tribute — and Ubie, son of Hailo Mariam,
a governor of Simen. In an ensuing battle (in January
1831), both Sabagadis and Marifi were killed, and Ubie retired
to watch events from his own province. Marie' was shortly
succeeded in the ras-ship of Amhara by Ali, a nephew of Guxa
and a Mahommedan. But Ubie, who was aiming at the crown,
soon attacked Ras Ali, and after several indecisive campaigns
proclaimed himself negus of Tigre. To him came many French
missionaries and travellers, chief of whom were Lieut. Lefebvre,
charged (1839) with political and geographical missions, and
Captains Galinier and Ferret, who completed for him a useful
triangulation and survey of Tigre and Simen (1840-1842). The
brothers Antoine and Arnaud d'Abbadie (q.v.) spent ten years
(183 8-1 848) in the country, making scientific investigations of
great value, and also involving themselves in the stormy politics
of the country. Northern Abyssinia was now divided into two
camps, the one, Amhara and Ras Ah, under Protestant British,
and the other, Tigre and Ubie, under Roman Catholic French,
influence. The latent hostility between the two factions threat-
ened at one time to develop into a religious war, but no serious
campaigns took place until Kassa (later Theodore) appeared on
the scene.

(18) Lij ( = Mr) Kassa was born in Kwara, a small district of
Western Amhara, in 1818. His father was a small local chief,

and his uncle was governor of the districts of Dembea,
Rise of the Kwara and Chelga between Lake Tsana and the un-
Theodore. defined N.W. frontier. He was educated in a monas-
tery, but preferred a more active life, and by his talents
and energy came rapidly to the front. On the death of his
uncle he was made chief of Kwara, but in consequence of the
arrest of his brother Bilawa by Ras Ali, he raised the standard
of revolt against the latter, and, collecting a large force, re-
peatedly beat the troops that were sent against him by the ras
(1841-1847). On one occasion peace was restored by his receiving
Tavavich, daughter of Ras Ali, in marriage; and this lady is
said to have been a good and wise counsellor during her lifetime.
He next turned his arms against the Turks, in the direction of
Massawa, but was defeated; and the mother of Ras Ali having
insulted him in his fallen condition, he proclaimed his independ-
ence. As his power was increasing, to the detriment of both Ras

1 Since Theodore's time Protestant missionary work, except by
natives, has been stopped.

Ali and Ubi6, these two princes combined against him, but were
heavily defeated by him at Gorgora (on the southern shore of
Lake Tsana) in 1853. Ubie retreated to Tigr6, and Ras Ali fled
to Begemeder, where he eventually died. Kassa now ruled in
Amhara, but his ambition was to attain to supreme power, and
he turned his attention to conquering the remaining
chief divisions of the country, Gojam, Tigr6 and Shoa, Onwing
which still remained unsubdued. Berro, ras of Gojam, shoa.
in order to save himself, attempted to combine with
Tigre, but his army was intercepted by Kassa and totally de-
stroyed, himself being taken prisoner and executed (May 1854)'.
Shortly afterwards Kassa moved against Tigre, defeated Ubie's
forces at Deragi6, in Simen (February 1855), took their chief
prisoner and proclaimed himself negus negusti of Ethiopia under
the name of Theodore III. He now turned his attention to Shoa.

(19) Retracing our steps for a moment in that direction, we
find that in 1813 Sahela (or Sella) Selassie^ younger son of the
preceding ras, Wassen Seged, had proclaimed himself negus or
king. His reign was long and beneficent. He restored the
towns of Debra-Berhan and Angolala, and founded Entotto,
the strong stone-built town whose ruins overlook the modern
capital, Adis Ababa. In the terrible " famine of St Luke " in
1835, Selassie still further won the hearts of his subjects by his
wise measures and personal generosity; and by extending his
hospitality to Europeans, he brought his country within the
closer ken of civilized European powers. During his reign he
received the missions of Major W. Cornwalhs Harris, sent by the
governor-general of India (1841), and M. Rochet d'Hericourt,
sent by Louis Philippe (1843), with both of whom he concluded
friendly treaties on behalf of their respective governments. He
also wrote to Pope Pius IX., asking that a Roman Catholic
bishop should be sent to him. This request was acceded to,
and the pope despatched Monsignor Massaja to Shoa. But
before the prelate could reach the country, Selassie was dead
(1847), leaving his eldest son, Haeli Melicoth, to succeed him.
Melicoth at once proclaimed himself negus, and by sending
for Massaja, who had arrived at Gondar, gave rise to the sus-
picion that he wished to have himself crowned as emperor. By
increasing his dominions at the expense of the Gallas, he still
further roused the jealousy of the northerners, and a treaty
which he concluded with Ras Ali against Kassa in 1850 deter-
mined the latter to crush him at the earliest opportunity.

Thus it was that in 1855 Kassa, under the name of the em-
peror Theodore, advanced against Shoa with a large army.
Dissensions broke out among the Shoans, and after a desperate
and futile attack on Theodore at Debra-Berhan, Haeli Melicoth
died of exhaustion and fever, nominating with his last breath
his eleven-year-old son Menelek 8 as successor (November 1855).
Darge, Haeli's brother, took charge of the young prince, but
after a 'hard fight with Angeda, one of Theodore's rases, was
obliged to capitulate. Menelek was handed over to the negus,
taken to Gondar, and there trained in Theodore's service.

(20) Theodore was now in the zenith of his career. He is
described as being generous to excess, free from cupidity, merciful
to his vanquished enemies, and strictly continent, but subject
to violent bursts of anger and possessed of unyielding pride
and fanatical religious zeal. He was also a man of education
and intelligence, superior to those among whom he lived, with
natural talents for governing and gaining the esteem of others.
He had, further, a noble bearing and majestic walk, a frame
capable of enduring any amount of fatigue, and is said to have
been " the best shot, the best spearman, the best runner, and the
best horseman in Abyssinia." Had he contented himself with
the sovereignty of Amhara and Tigre, he might have maintained
his position; but he was led to exhaust his strength against the
Wollo Gallas, which was probably one of the chief causes of
his ruin. He obtained several victories over that people, ravaged
their country, took possession of Magdala, which he afterwards
made his principal stronghold, and enlisted many of the chiefs
and their followers in his own ranks. As has been shown, he also
reduced the kingdom of Shoa, and took Ankober, the capital;

1 Menelek means "a second self."

9 2

ABYSSINIA

but in the meantime his own people were groaning under his
heavy exactions, rebellions were breaking out in various parts
of his provinces, and his good queen Tavavich was now dead.

The British consul, Walter C. Plowden, who was strongly
attached to Theodore, having been ordered by his government
Theodore's i n i860 to return to Massawa, was attacked on his
quarrel way by a rebel named Garred, mortally wounded,
%ri/? reat a taken prisoner. Theodore attacked the rebels,
and in the action the murderer of Mr Plowden
was slain by his friend and companion Mr J. T. Bell, an
engineer, but the latter lost his life in preserving that of
Theodore. The deaths of the two Englishmen were terribly
avenged by the slaughter or mutilation of nearly 2000 rebels.
Theodore soon after married his second wife Terunish, the proud
daughter of the late governor of Tigre, who felt neither affection
nor respect for the upstart who had dethroned her father, and
the union was by no means a happy one. In 1862 he made a
second expedition against the Gallas, which was stained with
atrocious cruelties. Theodore had now given himself up to
intoxication and lust. When the news of Mr Plowden's death
reached England, Captain C. D. Cameron was appointed to
succeed him as consul, and arrived at Massawa in February
1862. He proceeded to the camp of the king, to whom he pre-
sented a rifle, a pair of pistols and a letter in the queen's name.
In October Captain Cameron was sent home by Theodore, with a
letter to the queen of England, which reached the Foreign Office
on the 1 2 th of February 1863. This letter was put aside and no
answer returned, and to this in no small degree are to be attri-
buted the difficulties that subsequently arose with that country.
In November despatches were received from England, but no
answer to the emperor's letter, and this, together with a visit
paid by Captain Cameron to the Egyptian frontier town of
Kassala, greatly offended him; accordingly in January 1864
Captain Cameron and his suite, with Messrs Stern and Rosenthal,
were cast into prison. When the news of this reached England,
the government resolved, when too late, to send an answer to
the emperor's letter, and selected Mr Hormuzd Rassam to be
its bearer. He arrived at Massawa in July 1864, and immedi-
ately despatched a messenger requesting permission to present
himself before the emperor. Neither to this nor a subsequent
application was any answer returned till August 1865, when a
curt note was received, stating that Consul Cameron had been
released, and if Mr Rassam still desired to visit the king, he was
to proceed by the route of Gallabat. Later in the year Theodore
became more civil, and the British party on arrival at the king's
camp in Damot, on the 25th of January 1866, were received
with all honour, and were afterwards sent to Kwarata, on Lake
Tsana, there to await the arrival of the captives. The latter
reached Kwarata on the 12th of March, and everything appeared
to proceed favourably. A month later they started for the coast,
but had not proceeded far when they were all brought back and
put into confinement. Theodore then wrote a letter to the queen,
requesting European workmen and machinery to be sent to
him, and despatched it by Mr Flad. The Europeans, although
detained as prisoners, were not at first unkindly treated; but
in the end of June they were sent to Magdala, where they were
soon afterwards put in chains. They suffered hunger, cold and
misery, and were in constant fear of death, till the spring of
1868 when they were relieved by the British troops.

(21) In the meantime the power of Theodore in the country
was rapidly waning. Shoa had already shaken off his yoke;
Gojam was virtually independent; Walkeit and Simen were
under a rebel chief; and Lasta, Waag and the country about
Lake Ashangi had submitted to Wagshum Gobassie, who had
also overrun Tigre and appointed Dejaj Kassai his governor.
The latter, however, in 1867 rebelled against his master and
assumed the supreme power of that province. This was the
state of matters when the English troops made their appearance
in the country. With a view if possible to effect the release of
the prisoners by conciliatory, measures, Mr Flad was sent back,
with some artisans and machinery, and a letter from the queen,
stating that these would be handed over to his majesty on the

release of the prisoners and their return to Massawa. This,
however, failed to influence the emperor, and the English
government at length saw that they must have recourse to arms.
In July 1867, therefore, it was resolved to send an army into
Abyssinia to enforce the release of the captives, under Sir
Robert Napier (1st Baron Napier of Magdala). The landing-
place selected was Mulkutto (Zula), on Annesley Bay, the point
of the coast nearest to the site of the ancient Adulis, and we
are told that "the pioneers of the English expedition followed
to some extent in the footsteps of the adventurous
soldiers of Ptolemy, and met with a few faint traces ?! r ^°^ ert
of this old-world enterprise " (C. R. Markham). The expedition.
force amounted to upwards of 16,000 men, besides
12,640 belonging to the transport service, and followers, making
in all upwards of 32,000 men. The task to be accomplished
was to march over 400 miles of a mountainous and little-known
country, inhabited by savage tribes, to the camp or fortress of
Theodore, and compel him to deliver up his captives. The com-
mander-in-chief landed on the 7th of January 1868, and soon
after the troops began to move forward through the pass of
Senafe, and southward through the districts of Agame, Tera,
Endarta, Wojerat, Lasta and Wadela. In the meantime
Theodore had been reduced to great straits. His army, which at
one time numbered over 100,000 men, was rapidly deserting him,
and he could hardly obtain food for his followers. He resolved
to quit his captial Debra-Tabor, which he burned, and set out
with the remains of his army for Magdala. During this march
he displayed an amount of engineering skill in the construction
of roads, of military talent and fertility of resource, that excited
the admiration and astonishment of his enemies. On the after-
noon of the 10th of April a force of about 3000 men suddenly
poured down upon the English in the plain of Arogie, a few
miles from Magdala. They advanced again and again to the
charge, but were each time driven back, and finally retired in
good order. Early next morning Theodore sent Lieut. Prideaux,
one of the captives, and Mr Flad, accompanied by a native chief,
to the English camp to sue for peace. Answer was returned,
that if he would deliver up all the Europeans in his hands, and
submit to the queen of England, he would receive honourable
treatment. The captives were liberated and sent away, and
accompanying a letter to the English general was a present
of 1000 cows and 500 sheep, the acceptance of which would,
according to Eastern custom, imply that peace was granted.
Through some misunderstanding, word was sent to Theodore
that the present would be accepted, and he felt that he was now
safe; but in the evening he learned that it had not been received,
and despair again seized him. Early next morning he attempted
to escape with a few of his followers, but subsequently returned.
The same day (13th April) Magdala was stormed and taken,
practically without loss, and within they found the dead body
of the emperor, who had fallen by his own hand. The inhabit-
ants and troops were subsequently sent away, the fortifications
destroyed and the town burned. The queen Terunish having
expressed her wish to go back to her own country, accompanied
the British army, but died during the march, and her son Alam-
ayahu, the only legitimate son of the emperor, was brought to
England, as this was the desire of his father. 1 The success of
the expedition was in no small degree owing to the aid afforded
by the several native chiefs through whose country it passed,
and no one did more in this way than Dejaj Kassa or Kassai of
Tigr6. In acknowledgment of this, several pieces of ordnance,
small arms and ammunition, with much of the surplus stores,
were handed over to him, and the English troops left the country
in May 1868.

(22) It is now time to return to the story of the young prince
Menelek, who, as we have seen, had been nomin- Meneiek
ated by his late father as ruler of Shoa, but was n< king
in Theodore's power in Tigre. The following table otshoa.
shows his descent since the beginning of the 19th century: —

1 He was subsequently sent to school at Rugby, but died in his
nineteenth year, on the 14th of November 1879. He was buried
at St George's Chapel, Windsor.

ABYSSINIA

Asfa Nassen, d. 1807

, I
Wassan Seged=Woizero Zenebe Work
d. 1S11 I

Becurraye

Sella Selassie =Woizero Betsabesh
(1795-1847) I

Haeli Melicoth = Ejigayu
(1825-1855)

Menelek II. =Taitu
b. 1844

Siefu Darge

(1826-1860) b. 1827

Mashasha

1 son Zauditu Tanina Work

(dead) (Judith) (daughter)

On the retirement of Theodore's forces from Shoa in 1855,
Siefu, brother of Haeli Melicoth, proclaimed himself negus of
Shoa at Ankober, and beat the local representatives of the
northern government. The emperor returned, however, in
1858, and after several repulses succeeded in entering Ankober,
where he behaved with great cruelty, murdering or mutilating
all the inhabitants. Siefu kept up a gallant defence for two
more years, but was then killed by Kebret, one of his own chiefs.
Thus chaos again reigned supreme in Shoa. In 1865, Menelek,
now a dejazmach 1 of Tigre, took advantage of Theodore's diffi-
culties with the British government and escaped to Workitu,
queen of the Wollo Galla country. The emperor, who held as
hostage a son of Workitu, threatened to kill the boy unless
Menelek were given up; but the gallant queen refused, and lost
both her son and her throne. The fugitive meanwhile arrived
safely in Shoa, and was there acclaimed as negus. For the next
three years Menelek devoted himself to strengthening and
disciplining his army, to legislation, to building towns, such as
Liche (near Debra-Berhan), Worra Hailu (Wollo Galla country),
&c, and to repelling the incursions of the Gallas. On the death
of Theodore (t3th April 1868) many Shoans, including Ras
Darge, were released, and Menelek began to feel himself strong
King John enough, after a few preliminary minor campaigns, to
attains undertake offensive operations against the northern
supreme princes. But these projects were of little avail, for
Kassai of Tigr6, as above mentioned, had by this time
(1872) risen to supreme power in the north. With the help of the
rifles and guns presented to him by the British, he had beaten
Ras Bareya of Tigre, Wagshum Gobassie of Amhara and Tekla
Giorgis of Condar, and after proclaiming himself negus negusti
under the name of Johannes or John, was now preparing to
march on Shoa. Here, however, Menelek was saved from prob-
able destruction through the action of Egypt. This power had,
by the advice of Werner Munzinger (q.v.), their Swiss governor
of Massawa, seized and occupied in 1872 the northern province
of Bogos; and, later on, insisted on occupying Hamasen also,
for fear Bogos should be attacked. John, after futile protests,
collected an army, and with the assistance of Ras Walad Michael,
hereditary chief of Bogos, advanced against the Egyptian forces,
who were under the command of one Arendrup, a Dane. Meeting
near the Mareb, the Egyptians were beaten in detail, and almost
annihilated at Gundet (13th November 1875). An avenging
expedition was prepared in the spring of the following year, and,
numbering 14,000 men under Ratib Pasha, Loring (American),
and Prince Hassan, advanced to Gura and fortified a position
in the neighbourhood. Although reinforced by Walad Michael,
who had now quarrelled with John, the Egyptians were a second
time (25th March 1876) heavily beaten by the Abyssinians, and
retired, losing an enormous quantity of both men and rifles.
Colonel C. G. Gordon, governor-general of the Sudan, was now
ordered to go and make peace with John, but the king had moved
south with his army, intending to punish Menelek for having
raided Gondar whilst he, John, was engaged with the Egyptians.

1 A title variously translated. A dejazmach (dejaj) is a high
official, ranking immediately below a ras.

(23) Menelek's kingdom was meanwhile torn in twain by
serious dissensions, which had been instigated by his concubine
Bafana. This lady, to whom he was much attached, had been
endeavouring to secure the succession of one of her own sons to
the throne of Shoa, and had almost succeeded in getting rid of
Mashasha, son of Siefu and cousin of Menelek, who was the ap-
parent heir. On the approach of John, the Shoans united for a
time against their common enemy. But after a few skirmishes
they melted away, and Menelek was obliged to submit and do
obeisance to John. The latter behaved .with much generosity,
but at the same time imposed terms which effectually deprived
Shoa of her independence (March 1878). In 1879 Gordon was
sent on a fresh mission to John on behalf of Egypt; but he was
treated with scant courtesy, and was obliged to leave the country
without achieving anything permanent.

The Italians now come on the scene. Assab, a port near the
southern entrance of the Red Sea, had been bought from the
local sultan in March 1870 by an Italian company,
which, after acquiring more land in 1879 and 1880, f^H««f
was bought out by the Italian government in 1882. influence.
In this year Count Pietro Antonelli was despatched to
Shoa in order to improve the prospects of the colony by treaties
with Menelek and the sultan of Aussa. Several missions followed
upon this one, with more or less successful results; but both
John and Menelek became uneasy when Beilul, a port to the north
of Assab Bay, was occupied by the Italians in January 1885, and
Massawa taken over by them from Egypt in the following month.
This latter act was greatly resented by the Abyssinians, for by a
treaty concluded with a British and Egyptian mission under
Admiral Hewett and Mason Pasha 2 in the previous year, free
transit of goods was to be allowed through this port. Matters
came to a head in January 1887, when the Abyssinians, in con-
sequence of a refusal from General Gene to withdraw his troops,
surrounded and attacked a detachment of 500 Italian troops
at Dogali, killing more than 400 of them. Reinforcements were
sent from Italy, whilst in the autumn the British government
stepped in and tried to mediate by means of a mission under Mr
(afterwards Sir Gerald) Portal. His mission, however proved
abortive, and after many difficulties and dangers he returned to
Egypt at the end of the year. In April 1888 the Italian forces,
numbering over 20,000 men, came into touch with the Abys-
sinian army; but negotiations took the place of fighting, with
the result that both forces retired, the Italians only leaving
some 5000 troops in Eritrea, as their colony was now called.
Meanwhile John had not been idle with regard to the dervishes,
who had in the meantime become masters of the .Egyptian
Sudan. Although he had set his troops in motion too late to
relieve Kassala, Ras Alula, his chief general, had succeeded in
inflicting a handsome defeat on Osman Digna at Kufit in Sep-
tember 1885. Fighting between the dervishes and the Abys-
sinians continued, and in August 1887 the dervishes entered
and sacked Gondar. After some delay, King John took the field
in force against the enemy, who were still harassing the north-
west of his territory. A great battle ensued at Gallabat, in which
the dervishes, under Zeki Tumal, were beaten. But a stray
bullet struck the king, and the Abyssinians decided to retire.
The king died during the night, and his body fell into the hands
of the enemy (9th March 1889).

(24) Immediately the news of John's death reached Menelek,
he proclaimed himself emperor, and received the submission of
Gondar, Gojam and several other provinces. In
common with other northern princes, Mangasha, emperor.
reputed son and heir of King John, with the yellow-
eyed Ras Alula, 3 refused to acknowledge the sovereignty of
Menelek; but, on the latter marching against them in the
following January with a large army, they submitted. As it
happened, Count Antonelli was with Menelek when he claimed

2 The main object of this mission was to seek John's assistance
in evacuating the Egyptian garrisons in the Sudan, which were
threatened by the dervishes.

_ * Ras Alula died February 1897, a S e d about 52. He had raised
himself by his military talents from being a groom and private
soldier to the position of generalissimo of the army.

ABYSSINIA

the throne, and promptly concluded (2nd of May 1889) with
him on behalf of Italy a friendly treaty, to be known hereafter
as the famous Uccialli treaty. In consequence of this the
Italians occupied Asmara, made friends with Mangasha and
received Ras Makonnen, 1 Menelek's nephew, as his plenipo-
tentiary in Italy. Thus it seemed as though hostilities between
the two countries had come to a definite end, and that peace
was assured in the land. For the next three years the land was
fairly quiet, the chief political events being the convention (6th
February 1891) between Italy and Abyssinia, protocols between
Italy and Great Britain (24th March and 15th April 1891) and
a proclamation by Menelek (10th April 1891), all on the subject
of boundaries. As, however, the Italians became more and more
friendly with Mangasha and Tigrg the apprehensions of Menelek
increased, till at last, in February 1893, he wrote denouncing
the Uccialli treaty, which differed in the Italian and Amharic
versions. According to the former, the negus was bound to
make use of Italy as a channel for communicating with other
powers, whereas the Amharic version left it optional. Mean-
while the dervishes were threatening Eritrea. A fine action by
Colonel Arimondi gained Agordat for Italy (21st December
1893), and a brilliant march by Colonel Baratieri resulted in
the acquisition of Kassala (17th July 1894).

On his return Baratieri found that Mangasha was intriguing
with the dervishes, and had actually crossed the frontier with a
large army. At Koatit and Senate (13th to 15th January 1895)
Mangasha was met and heavily defeated by Baratieri, who
occupied Adrigat in March. But as the year wore on the Italian
commander pushed his forces unsupported too far to the south.
Menelek was advancing with a large army in national support
of Mangasha, and the subsequent reverses at Amba Alagi (7 th
December 1895) and Macalle (23rd January 1896) forced the
Italians to fall back.

Reinforcements of many thousands were meanwhile arriving
at Massawa, and in February Baratieri took the field at the
head of over 13 ,000 men. Menelek's army, amounting
Adowa". to aDOut 90,000, had during this time advanced, and
was occupying a strong position at Abba Garima,
near Adua (or Adowa). Here Baratieri attacked him on the 1st
of March, but the difficulties of the country were great, and one
of the four Italian brigades had pushed too far forward. This
brigade was attacked by overwhelming numbers, and on the
remaining brigades advancing in support, they were successively
cut to pieces by the encircling masses of the enemy. The Italians
lost over 4500 white and 2000 native troops killed and wounded,
and over 2500 prisoners, of which 1600 were white, whilst the
Abyssinians owned to a loss of over 3000. General Baldissera
advanced with a large body of reinforcements to avenge this
defeat, hut the Abyssinians, desperately short of supplies, had
already retired, and beyond the peaceful relief of Adrigat no
further operations took place. It may here be remarked that
the white prisoners taken by Menelek were exceedingly well
treated by him, and that he behaved throughout the struggle
with Italy with the greatest humanity and dignity. On the
26th of October following a provisional treaty of peace was
concluded at Adis Ababa, annulling the treaty of Uccialli and
recognizing the absolute independence of Abyssinia. This
treaty was ratified, and followed by other treaties and agree-
ments defining the Eritrean-Abyssinian and the Abyssinian-
Italian Somaliland frontiers (see Italy, History, and Somali-
land, Italian).

(25) The war, so disastrous to Italy, attracted the attention
of all Europe to Abyssinia and its monarch, and numerous
Menelek missions, two Russian, three French and one British,
asinde- were despatched to the country, and hospitably re-
monlnh cei ved bv Menelek. The B ritish one, under Mr (after-
wards Sir) Rennell Rodd, concluded a friendly treaty
with Abyssinia (15th of May 1897), but did not, except in the
direction of Somaliland, touch on frontier questions, which for
several years continued a subject of discussion. During the

1 Ras of Harrar, which province had been conquered and occupied
by Menelek in January 1887.

same year (1897) a small French expedition under Messrs
Clochette and de Bonchamps endeavoured to reach the Nile,
but, after surmounting many difficulties, stuck in the marshes
of the Upper Sobat, and was obliged to return. Another expe-
dition of Abyssinians, under Dejaj Tasamma and accompan-
ied by three Europeans — Faivre (French),, Potter (Swiss) and
Artomonov (Russian) — started early in 1898, and reached the
Nile at the Sobat mouth in June, a few days only before Major
Marchand and his gallant companions arrived on the scene.
But no contact was made, and the expedition returned to
Abyssinia.

In the same year Menelek proceeded northwards with a large
army for the purpose of chastising Mangasha, who was again
rebelling against his authority. After some trifling fighting
Mangasha submitted, and Ras Makonnen despatched a force
to subdue Bern Shangul, the chief of which gold country, Wad
Tur el Guri, was showing signs of disaffection. This effected,
the Abyssinians almost came into contact with the Egyptian
troops sent up the Blue Nile (after the occupation of Khartum)
to Famaka and towards Gallabat; but as both sides were
anxious to avoid a collision over this latter town, no hostile
results ensued. An excellent understanding was, in fact, estab-
lished between these two contiguous countries, in spite of occa-
sional disturbances by bandits on the frontier. On this frontier
question, a treaty was concluded on the 15 th of May 1902
between England and Abyssinia for the delimitation of the
Sudan-Abyssinian frontier. Menelek, in addition, agreed not
to obstruct the waters of Lake Tsana, the Blue Nile or the Sobat,
so as not to interfere with the Nile irrigation question, and he
also agreed to give a concession, if such should be required, for
the construction of a British railway through his dominions, to
connect the Sudan with Uganda. A combined British-Abys-
sinian expedition (Mr A. E. Butter's) was despatched in 1901 to
propose and survey a boundary between Abyssinia on the one
side and British East Africa and Uganda on the other; and the
report of the expedition was made public by the British govern-
ment in November 1904. It was followed in 1908 by an agree-
ment defining the frontiers concerned.

(26) In 1899 the rebellion of the so-called "mad "mullah
(Hajji Mahommed Abdullah) began on the borders of
British Somaliland. An Abyssinian exped

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Full text of "Encyclopædia Britannica 11 ed. Vol. 1 (A to Androphagi)"

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